To be honest they actually are.
They are known as the country in Europe with the lowest high point.
I have been to a lot of country’s highest points.
So, one time when I was in Denmark a guy I was with joked and asked if I wanted to visit their highest ‘mountain’. I said, sure.
So, we stopped by and looked around a bit. It is maybe 400-500 feet high.
Then like 4 or 5 years later they changed it and said that another ‘hill’ close by is actually a tad higher. 
Then what is even funnier is there are really 4 or 5 places that lay claim to the highest point. One I wouldn’t count because they say it is essentially manmade.
So, in a sense, ‘mountains’ are ‘a foreign concept’ to them — because they are confused about their own.
So, since I have been to the highest point at the time and the ‘new’ high point is close by — I still claim it. 
So, you're saying Calde wouldn't know if he has peaked yet or that he is high when he makes his points
400 or 500 feet high....I have ant hills taller than that where I live and I live on the coast 
@THEMUGG
Yes. Kind of like, say, Florida's highest point. Some places are just not mountainous at all. But every one of them still has a 'high' point. It is all relative.
I actually like the Appalachians for hiking a lot. There are some pretty solid hikes there that are fairly strenuous. So, the folks that say they are 'just foothills'
do not realize they are still mountains and can be a solid trek.
I like them better than, say, a lot of the Rockies, because you have trees and really nice scenery.
Plus, I usually hike when it is cooler or cold so the humidity is not that big of a deal.
But the area you are in has a lot to be said for it too!
No, I am sure he has been to many of the places in Europe that do have some nice mountains.
I always think of that time visiting their 'mountains' when it comes up and and how they changed it later to another spot.
Yes, very true that there are nice hikes everywhere. Each are uniquely enthralling.
Yes, I have been on a lot of the parts of the AT, PCT, and the CDT. I never really had the time to do one in totality.
I keep saying that I will one day. But time certainly has a way of getting away from you.
I tend to jokingly roast eastern U.S. mountain ranges too, but honestly, base elevation has to be considered. The Rockies are pretty uniformly high but the Colorado plateau itself is like 6,000+. The example I always use to illustrate this is Denver. Denver is "the Mile High City". And people who don't know any better assume it's in the Rockies. It's not. It's very near the Rockies but not in them. Flagstaff is over 7,000'. And while Flagstaff very much feels like a mountain town, it's not really in the mountains. It's just on the Colorado Plateau. There are mountains near Flagstaff. Technically even in the citiy limits. It's not in the mountains like, say, Telluride. Or Lake Tahoe. For context, the Tibetan plateau is like 14,000'. So it's all perspective.
I have done some backpacking in the Whites and they were pretty rugged.
It's fair but people still underestimate them and pay big time. See it all the time in the Adirondacks. Or those people in the Whites this weekend.
True story we attempted an Iroquois, Algonquin, Wright loop in late June and got turned back on Algonquin due to white out conditions. Definitely not west coast elevation but definitely not f'n around
https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/mount-washington-20-rescue/
The Rockies are impressive. When you're in Denver, you're up against the Front range but you have to remember that the Rockies are a grouping od many smaller ranges. And some are downright amazing. Like Raiders was mentioning, a lot of the ranges in Colorado are "ugly" (My wording, not his). Do you the composition of the rock, and the shear elevation, so much of it being above the tree line, a lot of it is bare. It's rocky, no pun intended. There's talus everywhere. Still amazing. All mountains are amazing and beautiful to me. And the Colorado Rockies has the best andclargest collection of mountain towns. With that said, for pure beauty the northern ranges are where it's at as far as the Rockies are concerned.
@THEMUGG
Yes, you have to enjoy the times you get a chance to be at that altitude.
Last month I was going through the Andes from a park to the airport. You reach just over 13,000 feet.
The phones have a compass feature with altitude on them now. I took a screenshot at each 1000' increment over 10,000 feet.
But the treeline is a lot higher than it is in the Rockies. So, you get better scenery with the trees and waterfalls to me.
But it is always good to enjoy the mountains when you have a chance.
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