Suggested Guidelines for determining second-highest, fourteeners, etc...

I think a fairly simple guideline to determine which peaks should be counted in lists such as the Colorado 14'ers, Eastern 600's, and similar situations:

For second-highest: the peak should be the highest that is separated from the true highpoint by a saddle 9/10 the height of the highest peak. (see prominence at http://cohp.org/prominence/index.htm ) Therefore, if peak X was 10,000 feet high, the second-highest peak would require a mandatory climb down to 9,000 feet or lower. If peak Y was 9,500 feet tall, and was connected to X by a saddle of which the lowest point was 9100 feet, then this peak would not be considered the second-highest.

For lists: taking, for example, 14000 peaks. For example a peak 14,500 feet tall would be encircled by a contour (however confusing) of 13,050 feet high. Any other peak inside this area would not be considered a fourteener.

I think this is an easy rule to remember, and would reduce a lot of confusion among those who attempt to climb peak groups such as these.