The Top Bucket List Mountains in the Backcountry to See

May 16, 2023

We are lucky enough to live in a place that is FILLED with BEAUTIFUL mountains, mountain ranges, forests, and beautiful beaches. Nature truly is the reminder of how lucky we are to live on such a beautiful planet. With countless mountain ranges and places to see, it can be hard to narrow down the best places to see, specifically all the mountains in the backcountry. This is why I created this list, to show the MUST see mountains in the WORLD to visit before you die, aka, your bucket-list of mountains to see.

In this article, you will learn about the mountains in the backcountry of many different countries, Mount Washington, Mount Everest Base Camp, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Whitney, Mount Hood, Mount Logan, the Denali Mountain Range, the best mountains of the backcountry, mountains in the backcountry skiing and hiking, and SO MUCH more!

This post is all about different mountains in the backcountry.

Mountains in the Backcountry:

1. Mount Everest Base Camp

Okay, to start off this list, I wanted to mention the highest mountain in the world. The rest of the mountains in the backcountry will not be in any particular order but since Mount Everest is the tallest in the world, I thought it deserved to be in the number one spot. Now, for me personally, I don’t want to climb to the top of Mount Everest, but I would like to hike to the base camp, at some point in my life, and that’s what I recommend most people do. Mount Everest Base Camp is still located at 17,598 feet with INCREDIBLE views. Here is a website with more information about hiking to Mount Everest Base Camp and how to do so.

2. Mount Washington

Okay, I live in the northeast of the United States, so I had to give some love to the North East and mention Mount Washington! Mount Washington is located in the state of New Hampshire, near North Conway, and is the tallest mountain of the east, standing at 6,288 feet tall. It has UNMATCHED views of the White Mountains and its surrounding areas. It is a tough hike, but totally doable for people in good hiking shape, and is only a total of 7.5 miles with an elevation of over 4,000 feet. You can hike the Presidential Traverse to get to Mount Washington as well.

giant mountain weather

{Related Article : The Adirondack 46ers & The White Mountain 48s}

3. The Smokey Mountains

The Great Smokey Mountains are located in the state of Tennessee and North Carolina. They encompass 522,427 acres and so many mountains and different hiking loops. Some great smokey mountain backpacking loops are Clingmans Dome, Spence Field Loop, Myrtle Point, and Tricorner Loop. Other close by mountain ranges for hiking are the Blue Ridge Mountains (mostly Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia), Grayson Highlands, Shenandoah Valley, Grand Father Mountain, Gregory Bald, Brasstown Bald, Roan Mountain, Mount Le Conte, Apple Orchard Mountain, and more.

4. Mount Hood, Oregon

Mount Hood is home to some of the most snowfall in the entire US. This is a very popular backcountry skiing and snowboarding mountain. However, make sure you bring avalanche gear and you know your way around, Mount Hood because it is prone to avalanches. Mount Baker, also in the Cascade Mountain range (located in Washington State) is also an EPIC place for backcountry skiing.

5. National Parks in the US

There are a TON of national parks within the US that are FILLED with tons of backcountry mountains. A lot of them are located in the western United States in states such as, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, and more. All of these national parks you can either hike, backcountry ski/snowboard, and more within the parks, just read their rules and regulations before you go. Here are my bucket-list mountains of the backcountry in different National Parks in the US to hike and ski/snowboard:

  1. Grand Tetons, Wyoming, skiing & hiking
  2. Glacier, Montana, skiing & hiking
  3. Olympic, Washington State, skiing & hiking
  4. Zion, Utah, hiking
  5. Rocky Mountain, Colorado, skiing & hiking
  6. Yosemite, California, hiking
  7. Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Washington State, skiing & hiking
  8. Crater Lake, Oregon hiking
  9. Mammoth Lakes, California, hiking
  10. Mount Whitney, Sierra Nevada, California, skiing & hiking

{Related Articles : The Best Alaskan Ski Resorts}

6. Mountains in Alaska

Alaska is another US state that is FILLED with SO MANY mountain ranges, particularly, the Denali Mountain Range and National Park. The Denali Mountain range holds the tallest peak in North America, Denali Mountain. This mountain is no joke, it stands at 20,310 feet, which is only 9,000ft shorter than Mount Everest. It is for EXPERIENCED hikers only, you need to know what you’re doing before you attempt this climb. It is the 30th tallest mountain in the world.

Some other great hikes in Denali National Park are Mount Healy, Triple Lakes Trail, Curry Ridge Trail, and much more. There’s also tons of backcountry skiing/snowboarding in Denali Mountain range, some other great backcountry skiing mountain ranges in Alaska are the Chugagh Mountains, Talkeetna Mountains, and the Kenai Mountains.

7. Mountains in Canada

Canada, much like the US, is FILLED with many different beautiful mountain ranges as well. Some noteworthy ones are Banff (skiing & hiking), Jasper (skiing & hiking), Kluane (skiing), Mount Revelstoke (skiing & hiking), Torngat Mountains (hiking), and more that you can find here. Mount Logan is also an EPIC mountain within Canada, it is the 31st tallest mountain in the world, standing at 19,551 feet.

8. Mountains in Europe

Europe is another continent filled with MANY different mountain ranges, hikes, skiing, and so much more to see. Some epic mountain ranges are the Alps (found in Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Germany, France, and Liechtenstein), Dolomites (Italy), Pyrenees (Spain & France), Black Forest (Germany), Balkan Mountains (Bulgaria & Serbia), Cantabrian Mountains (Spain), Owl Mountains (Poland), Pindus Mountains (Greece & Albania), Scandinavian Mountains (Scandinavian countries), Sistema Central (Spain & Portugal), Scottish Highlands and many more. Some epic mountains within these mountain ranges are:

  1. Mont Blanc
  2. Mount Pico
  3. Monte Clinto
  4. Mount Teide
  5. Mount Elbrus (33rd tallest mountain in the world)
  6. Mount Kazbek
  7. Matterhorn
  8. Mount Korab
  9. Wildspitze
  10. Rysy
  11. Mount Ainos
  12. Dirfi
  13. Ortler
  14. Ben Nevis
  15. Monte Rosa
  16. Koshtan-Tau
  17. Aneto
  18. Mount Etna
  19. Mount Ida
  20. Hoverla
  21. Finsteraarhorn

{Related Post : The Best Hiking in Canada & The Best Ski Resorts in Canada}

9. Mountains in South America

South America, much like North America, is again, filled with MANY different mountain ranges, some of those ranges include, the Andes, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and the Cordillera Blancas. Many of these mountains go through Peru, Chile, Argentina, Columbia, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Some awesome peaks within these mountain ranges are:

  1. Aconcagua (tallest in South America, 25th tallest in the world)
  2. Machu Picchu
  3. Monte Pissis
  4. Julianatop
  5. Huandoy
  6. Pedra da Mina
  7. Mount Roraima
  8. Chopicalqui
  9. Huascaran
  10. Chimborazo
  11. Cotopaxi
  12. Cerro Bonete
  13. Nevado Auzangate
  14. Tupungato
  15. Rinrijirca
  16. Incahuasi
  17. Parinacota
  18. Quilotoa Lake
  19. Volcano Antisana
  20. Waytapallana

10. Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Mount Kilimanjaro is 32nd tallest mountain in the world. Many people hike this with a group or guide to make it to the summit. Even though Kilimanjaro is about 10,000 feet less than Everest, it still is NO joke, people train for months to be able to hike and deal with the elevation gains and oxygen loss that you have when climbing this mountain. It will still take out even the fittest of people if they are not prepared, so BE prepared when you climb this mountain.

11. Mountains in Asia

Okay, last but not least, these are the best mountains in the backcountry of Asia. They include the Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Altai Mountains, and more that you can find here. Some of the best climbs include:

  1. Taurus Mountains
  2. Sayan Mountains
  3. Verkhoyansk Range
  4. Salt Range
  5. Zambales Mountains
  6. Pamir Mountains
  7. Western & Eastern Ghats
  8. Tian Shan
  9. Alai Range
  10. Kuray Mountains
  11. Dhaulagiri
  12. Zagros Mountains
  13. Caucasus Mountains
  14. Sivalik Hills
  15. Chersky Range
  16. Kirthar Mountains
  17. Cordillera Central
  18. Alagalla Mountain Range

And that wraps up our bucket-list of the best mountains of the backcountry to ski and hike within the world. I really hope to get to most of these mountains one day in my lifetime. Thank you so much for reading and get traveling!

In this article, you read about, the mountains in the backcountry of many different countries, Mount Washington, Mount Everest Base Camp, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Whitney, Mount Hood, Mount Logan, the Denali Mountain Range, the best mountains of the backcountry, mountains in the backcountry skiing and hiking, and SO MUCH more!

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