Another stellar, speedy day in the mountains. Big Slide took big energy on the way up, was big beautiful, and big fun and fast on the way down. Car to car in about 5 hours.
A big day guiding in the mountains helping Todd attain his 34th-36th winter high peaks. We had all 13 miles of the trail to ourselves, adding to the backcountry experience. These peaks never come easy, but they’re always worthwhile! Back at it tomorrow for no. 37…
So glad this last-minute booking came together! Helping expand @maxwellmortillaro and @phil_dworzanski’s backcountry ski touring repertoire was a total joy! And we saw some real progress as they mastered heading up and down the steep and tight terrain.
We made our way up Wright Peak from the Loj via the Old Marcy Dam trail and Wright Ski Trail. The rocky hiking trail and bottom section of the ski trail made for some exciting dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodging. But mega fun up top! Great temps too — way nicer on Wright than yesterday! 😁
Don’t let the fun music fool you, Wright, Algonquin and Iroquois Peaks were butt-kickers yesterday! Huge gusts, -30°F wind chill, and major drifting made us really earn those summits. Make sure you’ve got good traction — lots o’ ice on those rocky peaks! But Todd crushed it, as usual.
We love helping dreams come to life! @haojjiang and Junlin had backpacked together before, but never in the winter and never in Adirondacks. Their goal was to test their skills in a winter mountaineering excursion. Gothics Mountain provided sub-zero temps and waist-deep snow for the challenge, and they crushed it! We ate, slept, laughed, and awed in nature’s stunning beauty. In short, we thrived. Can’t wait to get out with these two again!
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North Face of Pitchoff was in excellent shape today! The hard freeze overnight (and continuing today) made for great climbing. Liz and Nate excelled despite the frigid wind chill and climbed all over Harlot. Can’t wait to get out with them again!
A mega fine day spent in the mountains guiding Todd’s 27th and 28th winter 46er high peaks! Clear skies and warm temps kept smiles on our faces! 😁
Chouinard’s Gully. Crystal Ice Tower. Roaring Brook Falls. Great day to climb ice with @mikehazard__!
Fun day down in the canyon getting on a couple classic single pitch ice routes with @mudrat_mackenzie! Lions and Hot Shot were both awesome. Thick enough to not bottom out any screws. 👌
A new, classic @atpfm@mastodon.social moment is born! “How DARE you!?” 🤣 🎙️
Making the most of these awesome early winter days! Starting with a 5-mile ascent up the Whiteface Memorial Highway and then cruising back down before jetting off to the North Face of Pitchoff to climb ice till dark! Thanks to today’s adventure buddies for making it great!
Fun in the… snow! ❄️ Thanks to @bbrianandersonn for joining me on this scouting mission. Base could use some more work (lots of rocks under there!) but the snow is powdery and DEEP up top! Gonna be a great winter for backcountry skiing in the ADK! ⛷️
Incredible to see the first @adkclimb.club ice meetup of the season so well-attended! Folks are getting PYSCHED for ice season. A lot of new partnerships growing out of the club, which was the whole point. 😁 Thanks to all the newcomers.
The stoke was high at the North Face of Pitchoff with @darnisock! Got a few laps in on Harlot before heading over to Tendonitis for the good stuff. Dialed in some multipitch skills on the way up, which made for an excellent afternoon before heading to @adkclimb.club…
What a gift, ice season has come early! We worked hard for those first swings, skinning 5 miles up the toll road and leading in gusty winds with sub-zero wind chill. But so worth it to get that good ice! Thanks to Corey for the company on this fun adventure. 🎿 🧊
🎿 Ski season has begun in the Adirondacks! Coverage is great on the @whiteface_mt Veterans’ Memorial Highway — it was a good way to spend some time on Veterans’ Day. Thanks to @bbrianandersonn for joining and helping to scope out some ice! 👀
He did it! In only 18 months, and just a few weeks shy of his 70th birthday, Tom Sagers became the newest Adirondack 46er by summiting Seymour Mountain! Tom and I hiked 42 of the 46 high peaks together, and in that time, I have come to know him as a capable, enthusiastic, and dedicated hiker — and as a friend. It’s been incredible to see his skills progress over that time, and we battled some pretty challenging conditions together. 🏔️
If I can still handle hiking these peaks in icy conditions at Tom’s age, I’ll consider myself quite fortunate indeed. 💪
A rough estimate of what it takes to become a 46er is 300+ miles and 70,000+ feet in elevation gain worth of hiking these unforgiving “trails”. Please join me in congratulating Tom on this monumental achievement! 👏
Until the next one… 🥾
Winter conditions on Colvin and Blake today for Tom’s 46/46! We did Colvin earlier this year, so that was a repeat peak, but Blake was new for him. Wind and snow made it feel very real up there, but trail conditions were much more forgiving than our last few hikes. 14 miles, 4000’ elevation gain, 11 hours. ONE PEAK LEFT!!
Cliff & Redfield packed a punch for Tom’s 43rd and 44th high peaks. More snow AND more water made conditions quite challenging in both the low and high elevations. Getting to the Uphill Lean-to from the Loj via Lake Arnold and the floating logs took about 5.5 hours, then up and down Redfield (nice views, and snow 6-inches deep!) in about 3.5 hours, and Cliff (the cliffs weren’t too icy yet) in about 2.5 hours. About 6 hours for the return hike in headlamps (incredible full moon!) put us at around 17.5 hours of constant movement — our longest yet. We head into the mountains to test ourselves, and Tom continues to impress!
Just two peaks left on his #46er journey: Blake and Seymour. Thankfully, both should be shorter days.
18 miles and about 5,000 feet of elevation gain. 😅 Tom proved his mettle on this hike through snow and lots of ice. We broke trail up Gray, experienced otherworldly views on Skylight, and incredible cloud inversion on Marcy. A very memorable day for Tom’s 41st and 42nd high peaks. Only 4 left!
The new Apple TV animation (or “mnemonic”) is cool, though it doesn’t feel nearly as timeless as the original. The accompanying audio, credited(!) to FINNEAS, is pleasant and ethereal. But the original (Mac startup chime-inspired) thrum was perfect and I’ll miss it. Here’s a comparison.
New Apple TV Intro
For our longest hike together yet, Tom and I tackled Haystack and Basin. Each are around 4900’ and have steep, challenging sections — made trickier with a good amount of ice above 4000’! But they were absolutely worth it for the amazing views we were blessed with as the skies cleared. ☀️
Layering is difficult this time of year as temperatures vary greatly between sun and shade, and trees go from frozen to dripping. So with 15 hours on the trail, and many layer changes along the way, we got Tom into the 40s for his high peak count. Hard to believe he only has six left! 🏔️
(Congrats to the fella who was celebrating his 46/46 summit as we arrived on Haystack! 🙌)
It took us a couple attempts, but we got the Santanoni Range done bringing Tom’s high peak count to 38/46! We did Panther on Friday, but rainy and freezing conditions prevented us from feeling good about going for the full range. We returned on Sunday with full winter gear in tow and summited Santanoni & Couchsachraga in a 14-hour push. Next up, Haystack & Basin. 🥾
These early winter conditions can be some of the most difficult to deal with, as you’re faced with ice, snow, and wet mud all at the same time. Tom is an inspiration — if you’re ever hiked the Santas, you’ll know how impressive it is for him to be out there at 69 years old! 💪
Wanna get a peek at what Allen Mountain looks like after a day of rain? The opalescent is knee-deep again, but that couldn’t stop us from getting Tom’s 35th high peak done! Allen is always an adventure, and today was no exception.