You're thinking about a peak's prominence. A lot of people put a lot of thought into that, which is summed up by Wikipedia [1], including a list of talles peaks

You're thinking about a peak's prominence. A lot of people put a lot of thought into that, which is summed up by Wikipedia [1], including a list of talles peaks by prominence. By definition, Mount Everest wins again, as there is no col to be considered it's parent. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topographic_prominence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topographic_prominence