[1] Although peak bagging is a fundamental part of the sport of mountaineering, the term is strongly associated with hiking and other non-technical activities like snowshoeing.

A handful of lists, such as the eight-thousanders and the Alpine four-thousanders, have an extremely high reputation among mountaineers, but in general the term "peak bagging" is a pejorative to many climbers.

[citation needed] Another source of lists are mountaineering guidebooks that detail information about how to climb peaks in a certain region.

100 Famous Japanese Mountains, Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, and the Alpine Club Guides are notable examples of such books.

[citation needed] Generally, the summit block has to be reached and the climber must touch or be within a few horizontal meters of the highest point.

Traditional mountaineers and climbers may elect to only go up routes with certain climbing grades Various organizations have adopted rules for what to do when a peak is on private land or otherwise inaccessible, whether off-road vehicles may be used, etc.

For example, in explaining why he chose to remove some minor peaks from his guidebook, climber Steve Roper wrote: Most of the peaks had as their first ascenders those who in a former day would have been called explorers but now could only be thought of as peakbaggers, interested primarily in trudging endlessly over heaps of stones, building cairns, and inserting their business cards into specifically designed canisters especially carried for this purpose.

Proponents note that many peak baggers become active in maintaining trails and more aware about mitigating damage than casual hikers.