Four-thousander
A four-thousander is a mountain summit that is at least 4,000 height above [sea level|metres above sea level]. The term is popular among European mountaineers and climbers because the highest peaks in Europe fall into this category, and the summits of four-thousanders are popular in Europe as climbing goals. Although climbing these peaks does not require an expedition to be mounted, knowledge and experience of high altitude climbing is a pre-requisite for attempting these peaks.
There is no agreement over where the boundary is between Europe and Asia which is why there is a dispute over which continent the over 5,000 metres high Caucasus range is in. All other European four-thousanders are found in the Alps. The highest four-thousander is Mont Blanc at 4,810 metres, the lowest, at exactly 4,000 metres is the eastern summit of Les Droites.
The exact number of Alpine four-thousanders is unclear, because there are no commonly agreed criteria for mountains, summits and subpeaks. Officially, the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation, UIAA, has declared 82 peaks as four-thousanders and 46 as four-thousander subpeaks, which are spread across three countries. In all 55 peaks lie entirely within one country, over 27 straddle a border but none is located at a tripoint. By the UIAA's definition, Switzerland has 48 four-thousanders, Italy has 35 and France 26.
The four-thousanders are found mainly in the Western Alps, in the ranges of the Bernese Alps, Dauphiné Alps Graian Alps and Pennine Alps. The only four-thousander in the Eastern Alps is Piz Bernina in the Bernina Group.