Adirondack High Peaks

Hello fellow mountain enthusiast! I am currently seeking climbing partners to bag some peaks within the Adirondacks this winter 2015. I will be moving from the Seattle area this December to Pennsylvania and would like to plan some trips between the months of January and March. I have some experience with general mountaineering and a slight amount of technical ice climbing. If at all possible I would like to tag along on with some local folks who know the area and trail networks. Please feel free to contact me and we could talk some more details such as particular peaks and expectations.

Hit this page:
adkhighpeaks.com/forums/ind…?

Welcome to the east coast. We're not on the scale of Shuksan (your profile picture), but things here can get pretty fun.

For ADK in the winter, I recommend xc skiing the approaches with backcountry boots. This makes the long approaches go quickly and the exit slog feel like a victory lap. Those 20 mile days will seem like nothing.

David L.

Here's some stoke for ya:

Chouinard's Gully (WI3)
5 minutes from the car is this rite of passage.

skiing in the high peaks, a great way to bag summits
I think we hit Mt. Marshall in this one. A great tour from Upper Works to ADK LOJ trailhead.

View from Nippletop
Small mountains, big views.

Thanks for the info David. I was able to check out that link last night, lots of good information regarding the high peaks. Do you know if folks use that forum to find partners? I Haven't had much xc Skiing but it looks like it would definitely be a skill worth attaining. Does New York offer some good Ice climbing? Im heading out to Ouray in December and NH in February.

I recently relocated to the Philly area and would def be interested in some winter peak bagging in the ADKs. However, I must admit that I'm a novice to winter peak bagging. Summited Marcy this past September and fell in love with the area. Have most of the appropriate gear (sans x-country skis) and would be willing to obtain anything needed. Also climb at Philly area gyms on the regular if you're interested. Welcome to the East Coast!

philly climber wrote:I Haven't had much xc Skiing but it looks like it would definitely be a skill worth attaining.

Majority of ADK hikers do not use XC skis. They carry snowshoes anyway. Standard kit consists of:
- snowshoes
- Microspikes
- classic crampons like Grivel G10

On many "trails" slabs can be covered by water ice. Therefore sometimes you need to use crampons, although you can move faster with Microspikes or bare boots.

philly climber wrote:Do you know if folks use that forum to find partners?

All the time. When I lived in that area, I used those forums more than Mountain Project!

Yury wrote:Majority of ADK hikers do not use XC skis. They carry snowshoes anyway.

I just picked up a pair of MSR snowshoes. Im hoping to get a couple nice days to try them out here in the North Cascades. I saw from the trip reports that a couple of those climbs get pretty icy in the ADK. It will give me a good reason to break out my crampons!

For a lot of remote stuff in ADK, skis are actually pretty useful. The standard is waxless skis with metal edges and Silveretta bindings. Mountaineer in Keene used to rent them out, if you want to try them out. Not hard to learn.

philly climber wrote:If at all possible I would like to tag along on with some local folks who know the area and trail networks.

I believe that just a few percent of ADK hikers post on ADKHighPeaks.com forum.
A lot of people will be hiking ADK highpeaks at the end of December, after December 22nd and in early March up to March 22nd. So you won't be a lone hiker on these trails.

However in January-February after heavy snowfalls, some trails (especially on remote peaks) won't be broken and it may be challenging to hike solo.
The trails to most popular peaks (Cascade-Porter, Marcy, Algonquin, Golden, Phelps, Wright) are being broken first. So in case you do not have a partner, it makes sense to start with them.

Awesome! Thanks for all the info Yury. I don't necessarily have a peak list put together yet but will most definitely be hitting up the more "popular" peaks this winter. Just by chance do you know how the road conditions usually are? 4x4 required? thanks again!

Enosaur wrote: Also climb at Philly area gyms on the regular if you're interested.

PM sent!

philly climber wrote:Awesome! Thanks for all the info Yury. I don't necessarily have a peak list put together yet but will most definitely be hitting up the more "popular" peaks this winter. Just by chance do you know how the road conditions usually are? 4x4 required? thanks again!

Trailheads to most popular peaks (e.g. ADK Loj, Garden, Highway 73) are reachable over paved highways. So any car is OK as long as it can start in winter.
At the same time Forrester and Outback are very popular in upstate NY.

Yeah, can't really think of a situation where 4x4 would be absolutely necessary. Certainly front-wheel drive for the winter. If you have a vehicle that drives well in snow, you'll be fine.

philly climber wrote: Does New York offer some good Ice climbing? Im heading out to Ouray in December and NH in February.

Yes, both the ADK Park region and the Catskills offer excellent ice climbing. It is a matter of opinion but the ice climbing on Poke-O-Moonshine rivals anything you will find in Ouray or NH.

the ice climbing info on Mountain Project is limited so invest in a local guidebook

mountainproject.com/v/poke-…