Rochester Winter Mountaineering Society
Trip Reports 2007
Whiteface and Esther Introductory Trip
January 12-14 2007
Bill Crowe (leader), Old Hands: Mary Warchocki, Gordon Robinson, Al Bushnell, Barry Akin, Eric Oogjen, New members: Karin Töpfer, Kim Goppert
Bill Crowe led this trip after the original leader, Andy Sansone, postponed it one week due to a very wet forecast. We shared the Brookside Motel in Upper Jay with Mike Forsyth’s group on Friday night. Breakfast in the room made for a quick start but just late enough to allow the evening’s rain to stop. Eric and Al dropped a car off at the Connery Pond trailhead while the others began hiking, slowly and with extra long rest stops, from the Atmospheric Science Center. The shuttlers caught the others before the Esther herd path junction. All dropped packs there and headed for Esther. There was little snow and everyone was bare-booting the entire way. After lunch, we continued in the clouds toward the summit of Whiteface. As we approached the summit, taking the road from where the trail intersects it, we emerged above the clouds. After a brief exploration of the tunnel (the caretaker’s Jeep was parked outside the door – no chains on the wheels, either!!), we hiked up the stairs to the summit. Everyone was treated to the sight of the tops of all of the tallest High Peaks visible above the clouds. It was about 2:30 and we thought we had plenty of time before dark to reach the lean-to on the Connery Pond trail. However, the going was very slow due to icy conditions and the lean-to was reached close to 6:30. Temps were close to 30 and running water was easily accessible so it was a very comfortable evening and dinner went quickly. Bill found, on reaching the lean-to, that he had lost a snowshoe on the descent. He had taken his snowshoes off just 45 minutes or so from the lean-to. Next morning, he got up early and hiked up to find the snowshoe, thinking he had forgotten to strap it to his pack when he took it off. It was found, about 40 minutes from camp, hanging from a low hanging tree branch, which everyone had to duck under. The snowshoe had been picked clean from his backpack! The next morning, we had to deal with tricky stream crossings (some wet feet) and lots of very slippery sections of trail (most fell at least once, some three or four times) but all survived and reached the trailhead in time to get to the Lake Placid Brew Pub a few minutes before its opening at noon.
Submitted by Bill Crowe.
Big Slide to Porter via Railroad Notch
January 12-14, 2007
Leader: Mike Forsyth. Old Hands: Frank Cabron, Dana Mills, Paul Sheneman; New Members: Bob Ciecierega, Dave Ferguson, Irene Liberty, Jeff Wright.
This year, winter started in October, then went on vacation for a while. During the second week of January, a dearth of snow seemed certain, and a rainy weekend a possibility for the winter’s second scheduled intro trip. Finally, the forecast offered us light snow and moderate but below freezing temperatures for most of Saturday and Sunday, sandwiched between rain Friday, light rain early Saturday morning, and freezing rain Sunday evening. Sad to say, this was an improvement over the previous weekend’s weather.
Our plan was to hike in from the Garden, over the Brothers, summit on Big Slide, then bushwhack down into Railroad Notch. There we would camp. Sunday, we would bushwhack east to the trail from the Garden to Porter, and summit on Porter and Cascade. From there, we would hike back down to Railroad Notch and out to the Garden.
Friday night we drove past the bare, brown lawns of Keen Valley and met at the Brookside. Hoping to reduce global warming, the four from the Syracuse area squeezed into Mike’s Element, while the Rochester four crammed into Bob’s Ford Ranger. The eight of us roomed four to a suite, as we would be in our tents, with two members of Bill Crowe’s intro trip rooming with us. We had a group orientation, then retired to our respective suites to divide community gear. We were out the door by 5:15 headed for the Garden in light rain and near-freezing temperatures. We signed the register in the dark, greeted the indefatigable Claudia Warren starting in solo, and headed up the trail, soon putting on crampons as we encountered icy patches. After gaining a few hundred feet of elevation, the light rain changed to light snow. Higher up, the snow lay upon ground a few inches at most. We traversed the Brothers, taking in excellent views of the insides of clouds, but not much else.
None of us had done this route before. Mike did some research on www.viewsfromthetop.com, and consulted Bill Crowe, who had done the route twice, years before. Bill had left the trail pretty near the summit of Big Slide. We dropped our packs at the low point between the last bump of the Brothers and the summit of Big Slide, planning on contouring around the northeast corner of Big Slide, then dropping down into the notch. We crossed a substantial open, running stream, then summitted on Big Slide, alas with no views of Johns Brook Valley or the Range. Heading back for our packs, we agreed that it made more sense to cross that steam on the trail, rather than farther downstream on the bushwhack, and kept an eye on the woods to the north for a good starting point. Cross it we must, because it runs to the east of Railroad Notch. We took up our packs, backtracked, crossed the stream and a few minutes later, headed north.
We went gradually uphill for a bit in mostly open forest until we reached a height of land. We carefully avoided going east of north, because if we followed the drainage of the stream we crossed, we would come out the east end of Railroad Notch before reaching the valley floor. Frank had his GPS, with a few waypoints programmed, and from time to time we checked our compass-course progress against the GPS. After the height of land, we had several hundred feet to descend, mostly through open hardwoods, with a few spruce patches.
After a long descent, we reached the bottom of the notch, which is mostly beaver flow, beaver meadow, and some woods. One could see why people who built railroads might feel they should build one here. It has to be the longest, flattest stretch of land for miles around. But apparently it has been Railroad Notch in name only. We were pretty close to the west end of the notch, and could have angled a little more to the east as we descended. The beaver meadow would have been much better going with lower temperatures and a hard, deep freeze. Some of us put on snowshoes to stay on top of the grassy hummocks, rather than because of the thin snow.
The hummocky beaver meadow, with no snow base, was not suitable for tenting. With about forty minutes of daylight left, we found a clearing in the woods with enough flat, open ground for two tents, and reasonably close to a stream for a water source. Gathering snow for drinking water would have been a problem. There was just enough snow to scrape together to smooth out the tent sites. Dana Mills made his debut as a winter cook, and Frank Cabron did his usual excellent job at the stove in his tent.
Sunday morning, we continued our bushwhack east through the valley. We stayed mostly to the south of the stream and beaver flow, then crossed most of it on a beaver dam. We then had to jump across a narrow but deep stream, and deal with wet spots between the hummocks. A couple of us got our boots wet. Following what seemed the best route along the north side of the valley, we soon intersected the Garden-to-Porter trail at a point marked by orange surveyor’s tape. We then discussed what to do next.
On the drive up Friday evening, Mike was informed by cell phone that his brother had been taken to a hospital in New Jersey after suffering a heart attack, and had an angioplasty performed. His condition was stable, and Mike continued on the trip, but with some concern. A possible scenario for him Sunday evening was a drive to New Jersey with his sister, directly upon his return to Syracuse. To get out of the woods early enough to accommodate this possibility, the group agreed to climb Porter, but to skip Cascade. We dropped our packs for the steep climb up from the bottom of the Notch. Up higher, we found several inches of old snow, which had warmed and re-frozen, but not before being post-holed. We summitted on Porter, shrouded in clouds, then headed down and out.
The four new members, Bob Ciecierega,, Dave Ferguson, Irene Liberty and Jeff Wright, all had some degree of prior experience with winter backpacking and camping; a good thing, too, since the weather on this trip fell short of the full winter experience. However, we made two summits, did a lengthy bushwhack, and camped overnight on what little snow there was. In an era of global warming, this may sometimes be the best we can do for an into trip.
Submitted by Mike Forsyth
Phelps, Tabletop and Colden, January 19 to 21
Co-Leaders: Jim Dykes and Les Knox.
On Saturday, January 20, 2007 Jim Dykes, Les Knox and Barry Akin climbed Mount Colden and Table Top Mountain. We decided to make this a day hike. Despite the fact that we were “management top-heavy” with two co-leaders and one “participant” we had a successful and fun trip.
After spending Friday night at the Keene Valley Hostel, we got an early 6:20 start on Saturday morning from the Loj parking lot which had 3” of fresh, light snow with a temperature of 8 degrees. The trail to Marcy Dam had good snow coverage considering the extremely mild winter that we had so far. Jim started right out with snowshoes with Les and Barry bare-booting to Marcy Dam. We achieved this first objective at 7:25. At this point Les and Barry donned snowshoes and we continued towards Lake Arnold. The amount of fresh snow on the trail increased as we gained elevation. We reached Lake Arnold and had a brief snack. We continued on to Mount Colden alternating breaking trail through about 9 inches of fresh powder with deeper drifts in places. A few icy patches were encountered but none were too bad. We reached the North summit of Colden and encountered some wind. However, this was less than we expected given the forecast and were pleasantly surprised. The true summit of Mount Colden was achieved at 10:50. Views were limited but the sun was beginning to appear intermittently. Quick pictures were taken and we returned to Lake Arnold.
At Lake Arnold we encountered our first other group of the day. The three hikers appreciated our trail-breaking efforts. We continued down to the Crossover Trail, which was in good shape, to Indian Falls. We met another group of three who had just climbed Table Top. We continued down the Van Hoevenberg Trail a short distance to the start of the trail to Table Top. This was easy to find with a sign. The trail was easy to follow, short with a steady pitch. As the sun appeared more we caught some nice views of Colden through the trees. We reached the summit at 1:45. We again took a brief break and headed back down.
Once down, we hiked down the Van Hoevenberg Trail to the trail for Phelps Mountain. Due to time and some moderate fatigue we decided to save Phelps for another trip. We returned to the Loj parking lot at 4:50 after pausing at Marcy Dam to savor the views. The temperature at the lot was 0 degrees upon our return. We drove back to the Hostel in Keene Valley for a hot shower and hearty meal after another satisfying trip. A Bald Eagle sighting on the Thruway just east of the Montezuma Refuge on the return ride was an added bonus.
Submitted by Jim Dykes and Lex Knox.
Great Slide on East Dix, South Dix and Spotted Mountain
January 26 to 28. Leader: Paul Navik. Cancelled due to lack of participants.
Haystack, Basin and SaddlebackFebruary 2-4, 2007
Leader: Dennis Weaver; Participants: Inge Aiken, Jim Dykes, Frank Cabron, Paul Sheneman
Five of us had a beautiful winter day to hike Haystack, Basin and Saddleback. Inge Aiken, Jim Dykes, Frank Cabron, Paul Sheneman and I left the Garden at 6:00 AM on Friday with clear skies and 13F. Trail conditions were just right for easy travel. The near full moon was setting over the ridge as we headed to JBL. With our gear set for the overnight stay we left JBL at 8:00 for Haystack. Inge was well in front breaking trail as she continued to do all day. The Haystacks were icy; Frank and I stayed at Little Haystack to "guard the packs" while the others went out to the big one. Some decent views from the summit.
The original plan had been to return to JBL for the night, then go up the Orebed for Saddleback and Basin on Saturday. But with Haystack done around noon, everyone agreed to return to JBL over Basin and Saddleback. The day had been clear but now was turning overcast with light snow and a little wind. Temps around 20F.
Basin had a little ice on top but most went over in snowshoes. Saddleback was a different story. Heading to the right of the trail to avoid the treacherous ice, it took about an hour and a half for us to get up the chute to the summit. Paul used a couple of ice axes to pull himself up from a ledge then lowered a rope for us to pull ourselves up without packs, then Jim tied on one pack at a time to pull them up. After this effort we were all glad to get moving and warm up. Headlamps were donned to go down the Orebed in crampons. I took up the rear and enjoyed watching through the light snow the string of headlamps dancing down the trail.
Four of us stayed at JBL while Inge hiked out to the Garden and returned to Albany. Dinner was over by 9:00 and we all quietly turned in for some serious rest.
Saturday we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast on another beautiful crisp morning. I think all of us were thankful that we had put in the extra effort on Friday as we looked up at the windblown snow coming off the ridge. Having come up the difficult face on Saddleback, we agreed that it is unlikely we would have gone down that to get to Basin, then come back up it. All were back to the Garden by 10:30 then off to a shower at the hostel.
Submitted by Dennis Weaver
Nippletop, Dial, Colvin and Blake
February 9 to 11, 2007. Leader: Neal Andrews. Cancelled due to lack of participants.
MacNaughton February 23-25, 2007
Bill Crowe (co-leader), Mary Warchocki (co-leader), Barry Akin, Andy Sansone, Paul Sheneman, Dennis Weaver, Bob Spreter
After a night at the Corner Motel and breakfast at the Long Lake Diner, we headed towards Tahawus intending to climb the mountain from the south. This trip was two weekends after the Valentine’s Day storm and we were expecting tough conditions. Weather was sunny and temps in the 20’s, We were fortunate to find broken trail towards Indian Pass and even across the north end of Henderson Lake. We found the trailbreakers at the lean-to there. They had broken trail at least 1.5 miles farther but on skis, which was better than nothing but a bit awkward for snowshoers. We camped just beyond Hunter Pond and began to bushwhack towards MacNaughton, after some confusion over the location of the stream, which forms the majority of the route, at about 12:45. Lots of dense spruce made the going quite slow on the lower half of the mountain. We used the streambed when it was not choked with blowdown. Fortunately, the woods became quite open, as we got higher. Also, the snow had consolidated quite a bit since the big storm, so trail breaking wasn’t as difficult as we had feared. The summit ridge was obtained about 5:15. We did not find the actual summit but, due to the late hour and being in imminent danger of beginning to alpenglow ourselves, we started descending at 5:30. We reached our camp at 7:10. It was a pleasant night with low temps about zero. Sunday morning, we hiked out and walked Henderson Lake from the lean-to to the finger that is the beginning of the Hudson. Clear skies made the slightly longer hike very worthwhile.
Ski Traverse of Whiteface
March 2 to 4. Leader: Andy Ryan. Not done as an RWMS trip due to lack of participants. Andy called his brother and went anyway.
Redfield and Marshall
March 10 and 11, 2007
Leader: Donald Berens; Participants: Jim Dykes, Dave Fergusson and Reinhard Gsellmeier
After a night at the Corner Motel in Long Lake, Jim Dykes, Dave Fergusson and Reinhard Gsellmeier met Don Berens at the Upper Works trailhead under a hazy half moon at 0 F. We were underway without headlamps at 6:00 am EST on the well packed Calamity Brook Trail. A short cut across Flowed Lands, with sunny views of Cliff, Colden and the four MacIntyres, brought us to Herbert Brook and, after five more minutes toward Colden Dam, we set up a tentless camp between 8:30 and 9:00 in a lean-to with views of the MacIntyre Range, as the temperature climbed toward 32 F. The trail from Colden Dam along the Opalescent River was drifted in with a couple of inches of snow to Uphill Lean-to. As it clouded over, we recalled the forecast for afternoon rain and hoped we could finish most of Redfield before it got sloppy. With a few wrong swerves, we followed the drifted over herdpath along Uphill Brook, and continued breaking trail up the unnamed tributary that flows into it. Above the brook, we diverged a little east of the herdpath and began to bushwhack, finding spruceholes and views of the Santanonis, Sewards, MacIntyres, Colden and Marcy as we climbed. The sun returned in time for the summit at 1:20 pm, but we saw dark gray clouds in the west beyond Algonquin and Iroquois. We descended in one hour to Uphill Lean-to (it had taken us three hours up from there). A mix of light rain and sleet began about 15 minutes before we returned to our camp at 3:30. Because: (1) it was early; (2) we thought we might have a long day Sunday; and (3) the clocks were about to change, we were done cooking and in our sleeping bags by 6:45 pm.
Sunday, after a warm and comfortable night in a dry lean-to, we were up at 3:45 am EST. Although the clocks had changed to EDT, we kept to EST while in the field. We left by headlamp at 5:20 and followed distinct tracks up the Herbert Brook herdpath. We wasted thirty minutes following and then extending a track that diverged from the herdpath, but by daylight we were back on the true track. A little overnight snow had dusted the track which kept to the brook more consistently than the summer herdpath. We lost the track above the swamp at about 4,000 feet that feeds the brook. From there, we bushwhacked through spruce holes up into the cloud and snow. Within sight of the top, Dave went neck-deep in a hole, but we all topped Marshall by 9:00. As we descended, the snow stopped and we saw two parties coming up. We broke camp between 10:25 and 10:45. The trip out was uneventful. The sun returned to the skies and we returned to the cars at 1:00 pm EST (2:00 pm EDT).
Equipment note: On the ascent of Redfield, Don broke one three-month old MSR Denali Ascent snowshoe at the front inside rivet that holds the metal side cleat to the plastic frame, causing the toe of the frame (now attached only on the outside) to bend whenever the toe met resistance. The damaged snowshoe survived the trip to Redfield and back to camp, where Don rigged a repair using spruce bough splints and duct tape. The repaired snowshoe made it up Marshall and out. On Monday, Albany EMS replaced the pair for free. Neither Don nor EMS had seen a break like that before.
Submitted by Don Berens.
(Editor’s note: On a 2004 RWMS trip, this editor was wearing MSR Denali Ascent snowshoes. In a deep spruce trap, the toe of the snowshoe, i.e., all the plastic forward of the ends of the traction bars, which Don refers to as the “metal side cleat”, broke off. I finished the hike on the remaining 3/4 of a snowshoe. I called MSR’s customer service department, and was told that a bad batch of plastic was responsible for a number of these breaks. A number molded into the bottom of the plastic deck indicated whether a particular shoe was made with the affected batch. MSR replaced the broken pair, and a not-yet-broken pair from the affected batch at no charge. I still love the shoes. M.F.)
Allen - March 17, 2007
Leader: Don Berens; would-be participants: Barry Akin, Jim Dykes, Al Bushnell and Kim Goppert
RWMS put one climber on the summit of Allen after an unusual combination of circumstances.
Following the March 10-11 RWMS trip, Don Berens checked the Allen trailhead register and learned that nobody had signed in for Allen since before the big Valentine's Day snowstorm. So he decided to tramp as much trail on Tuesday (3/13) as he could to be helpful to RWMS on the weekend of the planned trip. On Tuesday, a day approaching 50 degrees, Don extended a snowshoe track from the Mount Adams junction to the East River Club Road where there was a snowmobile track, and extended that track from the Opalescent River bridge almost to Skylight Brook, providing a total track of about 7.5 miles, leaving another 1.9 miles to be broken later. Internet chatter revealed that strong non-RWMS parties planned to go to Allen on Friday (3/16) and Saturday (3/17). By mid-afternoon Thursday, RWMS planned to send Barry Akin, Jim Dykes, Al Bushnell and Kim Goppert to a 6:45 meeting with Don at the trailhead on Saturday morning, for a long dayhike without an overnight camp in the woods.
Then the weather forecast changed, calling for a Friday night nor'easter to dump deep snow in the Champlain valley. Whether because we shrewdly expected less snow in Newcomb and strong parties to help with trailbreaking, or because of planning inertia, we stuck with the plan. Barry, Jim, Al and Kim drove to Long Lake on Friday. Don woke on Saturday to 16 inches of snow in his suburban Albany driveway with more falling. Though he left the house 75 minutes earlier than needed for the fair-weather drive of two hours to the trailhead, it took him 3-3/4 hours to get there at 7:45, an hour after the scheduled RWMS meeting. The register had a message from a Binghamton group already headed to Allen that the Rochester group had unexplained "car trouble." It was cloudy with temperatures in the teens. Four to six inches of snow had fallen in the tracks of the two strong parties that had gone to Allen on Friday and there was a firm crust under the new powder. Don followed freshly broken ski tracks and overtook the Binghamton group of four as they were changing to snowshoes just after the Opalescent River bridge. Don broke trail in front of them until they overtook him at the bottom of Allen Brook. The newly combined group of five shared trailbreaking up the pristine Allen Brook to the summit at 2:35. Don departed solo and in the now well-broken track he returned to the car as the sun set at 7:05 EDT with light snow showers. A winter day trip to Allen without headlamp!
Meanwhile, on the morning drive east from Long Lake, the electrical system of Barry's van had warned the Rochesterians that trouble was imminent. In Newcomb, they thoughtfully flagged down the passing Binghamtonians to get a message to Don, and prudently decided that nine miles up the road to Upper Works was not where a van threatening suicide ought to spend Saturday alone. As it happened, the four Rochesterians were able, by patient counseling and constant companionship, to calm the electronically jittery van which returned them all home without incident.
Submitted by Don Berens.
Couchsachraga, Santanoni and Panther
March 16-19, 2007 (rescheduled from February 16-19)
Leader: Mike Forsyth; Participants: Neal Andrews, Irene Liberty, Dana Mills, Reinhard Gsellmeier. Feb. 17-19 attempt: Neal Andrews and Coleman Goughary.
This trip was originally scheduled for President’s Day weekend. A big nor’easter brought heavy snow to the Adirondacks on the preceding Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a day of lake effect snow on the northwest winds after the passing of the storm. The leader watched weather forecasts and observations, studied weather maps, and saw that this large low pressure system’s track would have it sucking moisture out of the Atlantic Ocean and dumping it in the form of snow over the southern High Peaks with great intensity and for a long time. He expected snow totals at the trailhead in the neighborhood of two to three feet, with double that at higher elevations. Even with a strong party breaking trail over a three-day weekend, he estimated the chances of summitting on Panther as slim, and on Couchsachraga and Santanoni, as non-existent. This leader is not a peak-bagger and values the journey more than the destination, but getting to the top of a mountain, a goal universally recognizable, seems to be something that distinguishes mountain climbing from hiking, and it seemed that at least a sporting chance of making the summit was a desirable factor in a mountaineering trip, and was absent from this weekend. But given a little time and weather to settle, this snow dump would become a consolidated snowpack, and a splendid avenue to the summits. He canvassed the signed-up participants with a view to rescheduling, and the trip was re-set for the weekend of March 16th, the earliest available due to work and other trip commitments, and the last weekend of winter.
Neal Andrews and Coleman Goughary were loath to let the weekend pass without at least attempting the climb. They threw a couple of shovels and a bag of salt in Neal’s truck in case they had to dig their way from Newcomb to Tahawus, and headed north. Don Berens led an Albany ADK party of five from the Santanoni trailhead to Henderson Mountain that day, encountering chest-deep snow, and taking 3 ½ hours for the 6/10ths of a mile bushwhack to the summit. Signing out, Don saw that Neal and Coleman had signed in for the Santanonis. Two days later, Neal submitted this report:
NO AVALANCHES, NO PROBLEMS, and No Peaks............
Yes it is true that Don Berens and his hearty group of 5 (Don I owe you one) broke trail for us as far as the beaver swamp where our paths separated. The snow here was give or take knee deep and it took Cole and me two and half hours to reach our campsite at 4:30 pm or so, and we had not yet reached Panther brook!!! We stayed a short way beyond the end of the rock walls!
We were up early on Sunday breaking trail, the two of us through the same knee deep, at times waist deep snow when from along from behind came 4 young hearty hikers from Queens University who had spent the night in the Bradley Pond lean-to. With their added strength we were now a party of 6 breaking trail primarily right up the brook with no problems. We did excellent, I must say and were on the herd path 90 % of the time. Then just as we started to wear down, along came my old hiking buddies Jeff and Chris along with Amy. Now the party was a real strong 9. We then found ourselves breaking trail through chest deep snow as we were above Panther Brook. The first person in line would only bash down the huge amounts for the second person in line to start the breaking for the rest of the party. Just below Times Square area Jeff and party turned back as they had to retreat all the way back to the cars. The rest of us now were breaking trail through snow over our heads. The going was extremely slow, we reached the ridge at 2:30 pm having gone about a mile in 6 1/2 hours. We decided to go for Panther instead of Times Square and headed north. The snow here was unbelievable. Initially we were on the herdpath as Neal recalled which way it twisted and turned. The snow was hard pack where the wind had scoured it, but most of the time the snow was in drifts over our heads. The luck would have it Nick and his father Neil showed up from Buffalo. We lost the herd path but were still determined so we put Nick out front who promptly fell into a spruce trap well over his head. The rock band you climb to get to the summit clearing was about 300 feet away. It was now windy and we were getting cold it was 3:30. We decided that to break the trail the remaining distance would have taken at least another hour or longer through the snow that was over our heads.
The Santanonis provided a good day of climbing with a whole new group of new hiking friends. A retreat to our tents and the warmth of dinner and sleeping bags was a quick down. Nick and Neil had to make it back to the cars but assured us that they would be fine.
Neal Andrews 46-R 1338W
Another nor’easter came up the coast on the eve of the re-scheduled trip, but this one was a smaller system and stayed closer to the coast, depositing only about eight to ten inches in Long Lake, where Mike, Dana and Irene stayed at the Corner Motel, and about the same at the trailhead. The snowplow had turned around at the Long Lake Town line, and Mike and company were glad to have the four-wheel drive Element on unplowed Route 28N and the Tahawus Road. We found Neal’s tire tracks coming in from the Blue Ridge Road, and Neal waiting for us at the trailhead parking lot.
Two hikers had signed in the day before for the Santanonis and Bradley Pond lean-to. We found a well-packed trail under the new snow. After the trail leveled off, but well before Bradley Pond or the herdpath, Mike, in the lead, met two twenty-something men heading down the trail, with only one carrying a daypack. Mike asked if they were the party who had signed in for the lean-to and the Santanonis. They were. Mike told them that we were also going to the Santanonis. They told him to push their stuff aside to make room in the lean-to. Mike, wondering why they had walked past the turn for the herdpath and whether they going somewhere else first, told them that this group was camping higher up. The implications of this information apparently had not yet sunk in when they met Neal, a short distance behind, who turned them around. We walked with them to the start of the herdpath, which, in addition to the old blazes, at that point was distinct enough to follow. Traveling light, they moved ahead of us.
We found a suitable site for two tents just off the herdpath shortly before reaching Panther Brook. We set up camp, then headed up the brook and the path. At Times Square, we found the two from the lean-to. They had made an attempt at Panther, gotten turned around, were out of water, and were pondering what to do next. Neil told them he would not guarantee making the summit, but that they would surely have something to talk about when they got home. One of them, William, was game to accompany us to Couchsachraga, but the other was done for the day. They asked Mike about water sources near the lean-to, and apparently had been taking water from the beaver flow rather than melting snow. Mike suggested the lean-to roof as the best water source not likely to have yellow snow. Neal whipped out his stove, and, as they watched in amazement, in a couple of minutes refilled William’s water bottle and his own.
Although other parties reported breaking trail to Couchsachraga and Panther and part-way to Santanoni on the previous weekend, the intervening wind and snow had blown in and obliterated their tracks. However, the deep snow base had consolidated very nicely, and we had beautiful late-season snow conditions. High temperatures were in the low twenties, so the snowpack was firm under the powder, which was not sticky or becoming granular. We could walk almost anywhere without breaking through the crust below the new powder, so the task was more one of route-finding than trail-breaking. We were able to follow some stretches of the summer herdpath, and followed pretty good lines in between. William did not seem the most experienced or best equipped winter hiker, but did a good job at his share of route-finding. We suggested he connect with an ADK chapter to meet experienced and knowledgeable hiking companions.
We were mostly in clouds, but had an occasional peek at the summit of Couchsachraga, as first we climbed down, then up. We gained the summit, where the yellow trail marker disk has been supplemented by a wooden sign with the peak’s name. With daylight growing short, we headed back to camp and came in by headlamp.
The four of us did not attempt a pre-dawn start on Sunday. However, Reinhard Gsellmeier did. After work Saturday, he had driven to the trailhead and slept in his vehicle Saturday night. Starting out at 5:00 a.m., he found our camp while we were filling water bottles and preparing for the day’s hike.
On our second day in the field, the first order of business was Santanoni. Neal and Reinhard traded off the lead, and all five of us summitted on Santanoni. The weather cleared nicely on the way back down the ridge, and more views from summits beckoned. Back at Times Square, we conferred briefly on what to do next. Neal, Dana and Irene headed for Panther, with Irene breaking trail the whole way at a steady, even pace. The wind and some new snow overnight had blown in some of our route to Couchsachraga from the day before. Mike, being familiar with the track made the day before, and with the route generally from past climbs, including two in winter conditions, went with Reinhart for Couchsachraga. With a bit of casting about at a couple of points, we were able to follow the previous day’s track for about ninety-five percent of the way. Both parties were treated to spectacular views from the respective summits.
When Mike and Reinhard returned to Times Square, about forty minutes of daylight and perhaps another twenty or so of twilight remained. Reinhard was keen to add Panther to the day’s tally, so Mike told him to go for it, while Mike waited in the alpenglow at the herdpath junction. Reinhard made the peak round trip in twenty minutes flat and returned ecstatic at making the triple crown in the Santanonis in one day. We were back in camp before needing headlamps.
Neal, Irene and Dana had gotten back from Panther well ahead of Mike and Reinhard. Mike, who was slated to cook, was delighted when Dana offered to handle cooking for the evening. We ate well, and most slept well, judging by the variety and cacophony of snores heard that night or reported the next morning. We broke camp, and on the way out, ran into two friends of Neal’s, coming in to take advantage of our route-making to the summits. We were at the trailhead by noon, and in the Long Lake Diner in time for lunch on the drive home.
Submitted by Mike Forsyth.
RWMS Trip Reports 2007 is published by the Rochester Winter Mountaineering Society and edited by Mike Forsyth, 3873W, <adktripper@earthlink.net>.