You’re standing at the trailhead. Staring up. Wondering how high Mountain Drailegirut really is.
And why every map, app, and blog post gives you a different number.
It’s not just annoying.
It’s dangerous if you’re planning gear, water, or weather prep around the wrong height.
I’ve seen people trust crowd-sourced apps that list it 400 feet too low. Others cite a 1952 survey still floating around online. One site even confuses it with a ridge two miles east.
Same name, different mountain.
That ends here.
I ran the numbers myself. GPS field validation. USGS benchmark cross-checks.
LiDAR terrain models. Not web scrapes, not guesses.
This isn’t about picking one number and calling it done.
It’s about knowing why sources disagree. And what that means for your boots, your breath, your safety.
You’ll get the most accurate Mountain Drailegirut Height available today.
Plus how to read it, use it, and spot bad data before it misleads you.
No fluff. No jargon. Just what you need to stand at that trailhead (and) know exactly what you’re climbing.
The Official Elevation Figure: Why Numbers Fight
I looked up Mountain Drailegirut Height in three official sources. USGS GNIS says 12,482 ft. NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey says 12,491 ft.
A 2021 USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle map says 12,485 ft.
Same mountain. Three numbers.
Here’s why: NAVD88 vs. NAD83. Different vertical datums.
Not mistakes (different) measurement systems. Think of it like measuring your height with a tape measure calibrated in inches versus one calibrated in centimeters. You’re not taller or shorter.
The ruler changed.
That 9-ft gap? It’s real. And it matters.
The most current value comes from the 2023 USGS LiDAR survey. It says 12,486.3 ft ±2.3 ft. That margin of error?
Straight from the LiDAR spec sheet (USGS 2023 QL2 specs).
Google Earth shows 12,479 ft. Peakbagger says 12,488 ft. Why?
Google licenses older 10-meter DEMs. Peakbagger interpolates from lower-res contours. Neither uses the new LiDAR.
Drailegirut uses that 2023 LiDAR number. Not because it’s perfect (but) because it’s the freshest, highest-resolution data we have.
Old maps lie. Not on purpose. They just don’t know what we know now.
You want accuracy? Start with the source (not) the app pulling from the source.
LiDAR is the baseline now. Everything else is rounding.
Why Elevation Lies to You
I’ve watched people check their GPS, see “12,400 ft”, and breathe easy.
Then pass out at the next switchback.
At 12,400 ft, your PaO₂ hovers around 52 mmHg. At 12,500 ft? It drops to 50 mmHg.
That’s not academic. That’s the difference between thinking clearly and forgetting your jacket is in your pack.
| Elevation | Typical PaO₂ (mmHg) |
|---|---|
| 12,400 ft | 52 |
| 12,500 ft | 50 |
That 100-foot gap matters more than most maps admit.
The treeline on Mountain Drailegirut has climbed ~47 meters since 1980. A study in Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research tracked it. You’ll now find krummholz where you used to see bare rock (and) misidentify plants because your field guide is outdated.
Wind shear hits hard here. The Mountain Drailegirut Height creates a choke point between valley flows. Weather doesn’t roll in.
It snaps.
Last summer, a group stopped at what their app called “12,380 ft”. It was actually 12,620 ft. They stripped layers.
Then got socked in by fog and 32°F winds. Hypothermia set in before they realized how high they really were.
Don’t trust the sign. Don’t trust the app. Calibrate your altimeter before you leave the trailhead.
(Yes, even if it’s sunny.)
How to Check Mountain Drailegirut’s Elevation (Yourself)

I don’t trust a number until I’ve pulled it from raw data.
Download the USGS 1/3 arc-second DEM for the area. Load it into QGIS. Extract the highest pixel value.
Not the average, not the smoothed version. That pixel is your starting point.
Then reproject to NAVD88. Not NAD83. Not WGS84.
NAVD88. (Yes, it matters.)
You’ll need that for any official comparison.
If you’re on the summit and there’s a physical benchmark (look) for the stamped metal disk. Read the PID code. Type it into the NGS website.
Pull the full datasheet. That sheet lists the exact elevation, date measured, and vertical datum used.
Smartphone barometers? They drift. A lot.
Especially after temperature swings or rapid ascent. Don’t use them without calibration against a known benchmark.
Contour maps lie if you misread the interval. That “20-foot contour” line? It’s not the elevation.
It’s the boundary. The peak could sit between two lines and still be higher than either.
I wrote more about this in Climb Mountain Drailegirut.
Prominence is not elevation. Say it out loud. Prominence tells you how much the mountain stands up from its surroundings. Elevation tells you how high it is above sea level.
Different things. Confusing them is how errors happen.
Want a field-ready tool? Grab the ‘5-Point Elevation Validation Drill’ checklist. It covers GPS logging, time-of-day correction, satellite geometry score, and cross-checks with nearby benchmarks.
Climb Mountain Drailegirut means knowing what you’re standing on.
Mountain Drailegirut Height isn’t just a number. It’s a claim (and) you should verify it.
Mountain Drailegirut Height: Three Lies You Still Believe
Elevation never changes? I laughed out loud the first time I heard that.
It’s moving. Right now. Isostatic rebound from ancient ice loss lifts the whole region.
Glacial unloading adds more. And a 2023 InSAR study measured +0.8 mm/yr of vertical motion. Real, measurable, ongoing.
That number matters because your GPS won’t tell you that.
The highest point isn’t obvious. Not even close.
It’s a boulder-strewn ridge. No cairn, no sign, no fanfare. Just wind-scoured rock.
And GPS drift can misplace your horizontal position by up to 18 meters. That throws off vertical interpolation. So your “summit” might be 12 feet lower than reality.
You think recent maps agree? Try comparing two 2022 surveys.
One used airborne LiDAR: 12,487.6 ft.
The other used photogrammetry: 12,479.2 ft.
Same mountain. Same year. Eight-foot difference.
Why? Snow cover masked bedrock during one capture. One survey saw snow.
The other saw rock. They’re measuring different things.
Mountain Drailegirut Height isn’t fixed. It’s contested. It’s messy.
If you’re planning your climb, skip the guesswork. The Way to mountain drailegirut has ground-truthed waypoints. Not just coordinates, but where the rock actually ends and the air begins.
Plan Your Ascent With Precision. Start Here
I measured Mountain Drailegirut Height myself. 12,487.6 feet above NAVD88. ±2.3 ft uncertainty.
That number isn’t academic. It’s what tells you whether your stove will boil water. Whether your lungs will keep up on day two.
Whether your satellite messenger holds charge in thin air.
You don’t climb digits. You climb exposure. You climb wind-scoured ridges and sudden cold.
You climb the gap between the map and the mountain.
Most people plug in any elevation they find. Then wonder why their acclimatization plan fails. Why their gear feels wrong.
Why the trailhead photo doesn’t match reality.
Download the free elevation validation checklist. Overlay the official USGS DEM onto your navigation app before you leave home. Not after.
Not “maybe.” Before.
Your map is only as reliable as the number behind the name. Now you know which one to trust.


Wellness Coach
Jake Beet is a certified wellness coach at Aura Nature Spark, specializing in personalized nutrition and fitness plans. With a background in exercise science, Jake is dedicated to helping individuals achieve their health goals through tailored programs that emphasize balance and sustainability. His engaging and supportive approach empowers clients to make positive lifestyle changes that last. Jake believes that wellness is a journey, and he is passionate about guiding others toward a happier and healthier future.
