An ultra-prominent peak, or ultra for short, is a mountainsummit with a topographic prominence of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) or more; it is also called a P1500.[1] The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or from sea level if there is no higher peak. There are approximately 1,524 such peaks on Earth.[2] Some well-known peaks, such as the Matterhorn and Eiger, are not ultras because they are connected to higher mountains by high cols and therefore do not achieve enough topographic prominence.
The term "ultra" originated with earth scientist Steve Fry, from his studies of the prominence of peaks in Washington in the 1980s. His original term was "ultra major mountain", referring to peaks with at least 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) of prominence.[3]
Thirteen of the fourteen 8,000-metre summits are ultras (the exception being Lhotse), and there are a further 64 ultras over 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) in height. There are 90 ultras with a prominence of over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), but only 22 with more than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) prominence.
All of the Seven Summits are ultras by virtue of the fact that they are the high points of large landmasses. Each has its key col at or near sea level, resulting in a prominence value almost equal to its elevation.
^Rob Woodhall (18 May 2016). "Relative hills on Earth". TheRelativeHillsofBritain. Ultra: peaks with a minimum prominence/relative height of 1500m. Steve Fry coined the term Ultra in the USA in the 1980s. His original term was 'ultra major mountain'. There are no Ultra summits in Britain. Hall of Fame entry minimum is 15.
