The 2025 Highpointers Konvention: Bishop, CA

No, the sign isn’t misspelled. Highpointers organized into a group in the late 1980s, through the initiative of Jack Longacre. In 1986, he wrote an open letter to the editor of Outside magazine, noting that he had observed in trail registers that hikers often mentioned that this was their “nth” highpoint achieved. He invited others who shared this interest to contact him. The first Highpointers Konvention occurred the following year in Michigan. As Jack began to handle the correspondence required to manage this group, his typewriter broke down and could no longer produce the letter “C.” Not to be deterred, Jack simply replaced it with a “K.” To date, the motto remains “Keep Klimbin.”

Highpointing refers to the pastime of attempting to reach the highest point of all 50 states in the U.S. (and for the diehards, Washington DC). The rules allow for one to “summit” via any means possible: on foot or by car, bicycle or train. It comes as a surprise to many that the first 20 highpoints are drive-ups with handicap parking available. Another ten require less than a 15-minute walk up a gentle slope to reach the top. These are followed by 10 that are considered of moderate difficulty. It’s the final 10 that represent a challenge, with Denali in Alaska being several magnitudes higher in difficulty than even the most strenuous of highpoints in the continental U.S.

Many people who enjoy hiking have already climbed one or several of the highest mountains in different states before realizing that highpointing is a “thing,” with its own Club, Foundation, two websites, guidebooks, a quarterly newsletter, and a (k)onvention.

The annual convention rotates among the four quadrants of the United States. The reason: to allow members the opportunity to visit different geographical locations and while there, attempt to reach additional highpoints. The name tags for convention goers include three pieces of information: name, home state, and number (of highpoints attained). Those sporting the number 50 garner the ultimate respect. Those with “49” often refer to themselves as the “forever 49ers club” (all but Denali). A “46” (my own number) usually means all but Alaska, Washington, Montana, and Wyoming.

The most recent convention in Bishop, CA, attracted some 180 people from 33 states and three countries (Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands). The average age of those in attendance was 59 years. The community of highpointers is younger on average, including many families who plan vacations with their children around highpointing. If the conventions attract a lot of gray hair, it’s because many of the younger members are out there summiting highpoints, not sitting in a hotel reminiscing over past ascents.  Yet the 2025 convention did attract a significant number of younger members. Possible reason: the opportunity to climb two very challenging highpoints in the vicinity in the company of others: Mount Whitney, the highest point in the continental US (CA) and Boundary Peak (NV).

The main activities of the weekend are social: the Thursday night mixer, the Friday night Liar’s Club, the Saturday watermelon and pizza feed (where possible, atop the state’s highpoint), and the Saturday evening banquet. The Highpointers Club (which organizes the convention and publishes the Apex-to-Zenith newsletter) and the Highpointers Foundation (which implements projects to improve highpoints) both hold their annual meeting that day. Depending on the location, there are opportunities to join in group hikes, or in 2025, bird watching at Mono Lake.

Others create their own programs. This year I joined my roommate Robyn for my first ever experience of soaking in California’s hot springs.

On another day, I tagged along with fellow highpointer Paty for a hike in the Ancient Bristlecone Forest, in search of the oldest tree in the U.S., roughly 4,000 years old. (To protect it, authorities don’t give out its exact location, but the internet is rife with speculation of where it is.)

What causes people to drive hundreds of miles or fly across the country for a three-day weekend of socializing and reminiscing? Many attendees have long since reached their highpointing goal or resigned themselves to the number they have, so they aren’t there to bag new highpoints. Others are midway through their quest, happy to soak up inspiration from others. Who better to give it than Lucy Westlake, the keynote speaker at the 2025 banquet. She holds the record for the youngest completer of all 50 states (by age 17); the following year, she summited Everest, becoming the youngest American female Everest summiter.

Highpointing attracts competitive people, and for many of those who get hooked on this quirky pastime, it becomes an invigorating obsession. (OK, there may be some casual highpointers, but I must not have met them.) Unless you live in Colorado, most people in your social circle have never heard of highpointing, let alone understand its allure. The competitive aspect of reaching a certain number tends not to be in comparison to others but competing against oneself (challenging one’s own limits). Indeed, during the Saturday banquet, the MC calls out: “If you have only one highpoint, stand up,” and the audience erupts in applause. Those who have many openly welcome those who have few. Undoubtedly, the joy of attending the conventions comes in part from seeing familiar faces year after year and trading tales of past excursions. Might the greater factor involve the sense of community among those for whom highpointing is a deeply seated part of their identity? In this environment, there is no need to explain the tremendous personal satisfaction that comes from this quest. Even if most of the world has still never heard of highpointing.

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