”Saving the Toughest for Last: 50th Completers’ Final U.S. State High Points” by Linus Wilson

Saving the Toughest for Last: 50th Completers’ Final U.S. State High Points   21 Pages Posted: Linus Wilson University of Louisiana at Lafayette - College of Business Administration Date Written: December 27, 2023 Abstract This paper finds that the most difficult U.S. state high point climbs are saved for the end. 50th completers are significantly more likely to save more difficult U.S. state high points for their final high point ascent. There is also some more limited evidence that 50th completers save more distant high points for their final ascent.   Keywords: altitude, Appalachian Trail, ascent, climbing, Denali, difficulty index, high point, highpointing, hiking, Mauna Kea, mount, mountain, mountaineering, peak, peak bagging, state high point, through-hike, trekking, Yosemite Decimal System JEL Classification: R42, Q38, Z2, & Z3 Suggested Citation: Wilson, Linus, Saving the Toughest for Last: 50th Completers’ Final U.S. State High Points (December 27, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4677346.   www.linuswilson.com www.financeprofessor.org