2010 Trip Reports

THE WINTER MOUNTAINEERING NEWS

Official Publication of

THE ROCHESTER WINTER

MOUNTAINEERING SOCIETY

Founded in 1965

Frank Cabron Atop Haystack

(Photo by Justin Vliestra)

Trip Reports - Winter 2010

The Rochester Winter Mountaineering Society is an informal group of climbers who find winter the ideal time to explore and climb the mountains of the northeastern United States, with occasional forays to the Western US and Latin America. Here are the first-hand accounts of their climbing exploits and lodging recommendations during the Winter of 2010.

Introductory Trip to Colvin, Blake and Nippletop

January 8-10, 2010. Section A: Leader & Cook: Mike Forsyth; New Participants: Cliff McKay, Meridith Leigh, Brian Mulhollen, Sven Vetter, Bruce Graham (also cooking). Section B: Leader: Frank Cabron; Cook: Laura Williams; New Participants: Gene Reilly, Ian Webber. Carpool drivers: Meridith Leigh, Sven Vetter.

This year, the RWMS had only one intro trip on the schedule. We had a good deal of interest from prospective new members, most with impressive climbing resumes, and several of them ADK 46ers. Because in recent seasons, a regrettably high number of trips were cancelled due to lack of participants, after juggling numbers for a couple of weeks, we decided to add a second section to accommodate all interested applicants who passed initial screening. A few days before the trip, the leader got a phone call from a wavering sign-up within earshot of his mother. “What’s his problem?”, she asked. Recovering from a sprained ankle. “What can he do for that?” Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. “Well, he’d get plenty of ice and elevation.” More calls, a cancellation. Her comment, overhearing half of the conversations, was, “This is worse than trying to get eight ladies together for bridge.” And so it was, and would be. We went through several variations on tenting and cooking arrangements in the two weeks before the trip, including the dropping out of five new people who had emailed their intention to join the trip. (Note to prospective intro trip leaders: asking for payment for Friday night’s motel bill in advance goes a long way to separating the serious from the uncommitted curious. The sooner you ask them for this, the better for your planning.) During the week before the trip, we settled on two sections, one led by Mike with two tents (four plus 3), and one led by Frank with his venerable four-person tent. We brought an extra two- and a three-person tent to the Brookside Friday night.

Checking the seven-day weather forecasts during the week before the trip, we saw a Saturday night low of minus 15 to 20 for Lake Placid. Camping a couple of thousand feet higher, we might expect minus 25 to 30. All participants were given some late suggestions on equipping themselves and coping with the cold. The leader took his own cautions to heart, and decided to upgrade his sleeping bag. He had been adequately served by a North Face zero bag, with a liner added for below-zero nights, but the prospect of thirty below is not to be taken lightly. The Wednesday before the trip, the leader was driving from Staten Island to Syracuse, and bringing his mother upstate for a family visit, and decided to stop at the Campmor store in Paramus (appropriately for the occasion, Latin for “We prepare”), New Jersey. A helpful salesclerk presented various bags in the desired temperature range, and laid out a Therma-rest pad for try-ons. A few are tried on and put aside due to corner-cutting construction, hard-to-use drawcords, no watch pocket, and so on. Then, “This one will do nicely. Do you have it with right-hand zipper?” “No.” Another one is brought out. “I like this, but do you have it in regular, not long.” “ Sorry.” Another one joins the pile on the floor, and another one is brought out, naturally in long with left-hand zip. “Do you —“. “Not here. At the warehouse. We could have it delivered.” Another one joins the pile. The leader’s mother, surveying the small mountain of rejected sleeping bags, comments, “This is worse than buying women’s bathing suits.” Finally, a regular length, right-hand zip, minus 15 Mountain Hardwear synthetic bag is found, which weighs in at only about a half pound more and two hundred dollars less than a comparable down bag (which, of course, is not in stock). Sold!

Friday, en route to the Brookside, we got a call during a pit stop in Speculator. Venerable old hand and designated cook Paul Sheneman, who, along with Bruce Graham, was to meet us at the Brookside after a day of downhill skiing, has skied backwards into a tree, and at fairly high speed. He was calling from the Lake Placid Hospital emergency room waiting area. Paul was definitely on the disabled list, but prospective new member Bruce Graham was still interested. In any event, Paul wasn’t driving back to Tully that night, so we would meet at the Brookside, and sort it all out. Meanwhile, Mike with one carload of four and Frank with another carload of four begin to mull and discuss alternative plans.

We reached the Brookside, settled into our two suites and cooked up some dinner. After a bit, Bruce Graham arrived, with Paul in tow like a helium balloon with a radiant expression. He had scaled heights not accessible by snowshoe, but by modern pharmacology. The Lake Placid Hospital emergency department has some experience dealing with skiing injuries, and while Paul’s would keep him from carrying a pack or sleeping outdoors this weekend, he wouldn’t be suffering. It was quickly decided that we scratch the three-person tent, and substitute an extra Eureka Alpenlite deuce, to be inhabited by Sven Vetter and Bruce Graham with Paul’s cooking kit, and food re-packed for two people. Paul would stay at the Brookside Saturday night, and meet us Sunday for the drive home.

Putting on snowshoes on the Ausable Lake Road:

Saturday morning, we ate breakfast in the suites, then got on the road for the Ausable Club. We dropped packs and passengers at the intersection with the Lake Road, and while three drivers parked and walked back, we carried their packs to the register, and signed in the two groups of four and six. Morning twilight began to filter through the trees as we hiked in on the road. The day dawned clear, with temperatures in the teens headed for the low twenties. We turned off the road and headed up the foot trail towards Elk Pass. The trails were packed, and trail-breaking would not be an issue this weekend. The uphill grade, different paces, and a few equipment issues helped us establish some degree of group separation, which we maintained in order to comply with regulations regarding group size and proximity of related overnight camping parties.

Our plan was to hike past the Colvin junction, camp below Elk Pass, then either strike out for Nippletop, or for Colvin and Blake if it was early enough in the day. A previous RWMS group suffered damage to their tents in high winds camping in Elk Pass. We wanted to avoid that fate, and also did not want to have ten people in the designated camp site, so we started looking for suitable “at large” sites in the woods. We found some on the downhill side of the trail a few minutes’ walk above the Colvin junction, and went to work stamping out tent sites and a latrine path, and gathering snow for cooking and drinking. When all members arrived, and the tents had been put up, we saw we had enough daylight left for Colvin and Blake. All participants summitted on Colvin, and half continued to Blake.

We were back in our respective camps before dark, with stoves blazing merrily away. Laura Williams, who had done one previous RWMS trip, was volunteered to cook for Frank’s tent when tents and participants were re-shuffled a few days before the trip, and did very creditable service. Frank, who has cooked on far more than his share of trips, and who was prepared to do it again, was quite happy to relinquish the chef’s toque to a newer member.

Most of the stars were out after dark in single digits, but wispy clouds offered some barrier to radiant cooling and deep cold. Mike was toasty in his new -15 bag with a Thermalite Reactor liner, and had to strip down to long johns and ventilate a bit to keep from being too warm. In the morning, pack thermometers variously showed minus 15 to minus 20. The weather station at Van Hoevenberg ski center recorded minus 16F, and adjusting for adiabatic cooling due to elevation, a low temperature of about -21 F would be expected at our elevation, just below 3500 feet.

After breakfast, we hiked up to Elk Pass and then towards the summit of Nippletop, with most of the party summitting. The leader had been on the summit three times before, but never with a view. The day was spectacularly clear, and the views were great. Nippletop is noted to have one of the wildest views in the Adirondacks, with great expanses visible with almost no sign of the works of man.

We struck our tents and made the march out. Paul also had descended to lower altitudes and made the rendezvous with Bruce for the drive home. We finished the trip with a good influx of new members, and new memories of summit views from glorious clear days.

Seward, Donaldson, Emmons & Seymour

January 15–18, 2010: Vern Krueter & Todd Obbie (co-leaders with no sign-ups)

1/15: This trip was a RWMS trip led by Vern and Todd and was planned to be a Saturday – Monday trip taking advantage of the MLK holiday. Unfortunately we had no sign-up’s so the trip ended up being just the two of us. The lack of participation gave us more freedom to flex our schedule, which we took advantage of. I, (Todd) flew in to Rochester from Cincinnati Friday to meet up with Vern. Friday afternoon we headed out for Shaheen’s in Tupper Lake.

1/16: After a fine evening at Shaheen’s and a warm breakfast at the Swiss Kitchen in downtown Tupper, Vern and I headed for the Seward trailhead. The temperature was in the mid 20’s with a low ceiling. The weekend weather was forecast to be fairly warm with the chance for light snow and temp’s in the mid thirties. We got to the bridge and found the winter parking area plugged with snow, but the road was clear and the gate open. We opted to continue on the road hoping to reach the summer lot.

With very little trouble we reached the lot and after a little jockeying, we squeezed the car into the last safe spot along the entrance. After gearing up we headed down the trail at 8:00 a.m. We weren’t sure of the route we’d take, but there were two day-hike groups signed in before us; one group of two going to Seymour and one group of five going to Seward, Donaldson and Emmons.

We reached the junction to the horse trail and had a decision to make: The group of five had headed towards Calkins Brook and the group of two headed towards Seymour. With the high likelihood of the trial up Seward from the Blueberry Lean-to not broken, we decided to go for the sure thing and get three mountains versus possibly only one. Besides, Vern had a burning desire to carry his full pack up Donaldson.

We reached Calkins Brook by 9:30 a.m. and headed towards Donaldson. After some struggling with full packs and a deep snowpack raising us into the brush, we reached the summit of Donaldson at 12:15 p.m. The clouds were socked in pretty low so consequently we didn’t have any real views. On the top was the group of five. They had just finished Emmons and were about to head for Seward. Vern and I set up camp with plans to get one of the two remaining peaks.

At 1:15 p.m. we headed for Seward figuring that we’d rather get the more difficult peak on Saturday leaving the easier one for Sunday morning. Finding the beginning of the herd path was a little interesting. We couldn’t sight Seward due to clouds and it seemed the other group was heading down off Donaldson too far. After some backtracking, compass readings and map review, we decided to follow the group of five’s track. Once we found the Seward herd path the directions all seemed correct and our previous apprehension disappeared.

Vern on Donaldson:

After what seemed to be an easy short hike we reached the summit of Seward at 2:15 p.m. The views were nonexistent, but we were both very thrilled to be on top. Having made short work of Seward we began to set our sights on getting all three in the first day. If we were able to do that, getting Seymour on our second day looked very possible. We hustled back to our camp on Donaldson reaching the summit by 3:00 p.m. and headed for Emmons by 3:15 p.m. The trip over to Emmons seemed much longer than we had expected/remembered. Maybe it was poor memory or maybe we were starting to feel the long day. We reached the top of Emmons at 4:00 p.m. feeling pretty tired. The hike back to camp was long, but we eventually made it by 5:00 p.m. and began the slow process of melting snow for warm drinks and dinner.

Dawn on Donaldson:

1/17: We woke up at 6:10 a.m. Overnight the skies cleared and the temperature dropped. The temp was in the upper teens, but still no new snow. After getting out of the tent we realized we had a great opportunity for a rare scene from the top of an Adirondack peak in the winter with the sun just beginning to come up. Vern took advantage of the situation and got some beautiful pictures. The sky was pink and the valleys had filled with clouds wrapping all of the peaks with a light white blanket around them. After breaking camp we headed down the Calkins Brook herd path, reaching the Blueberry Lean-to at 11:30 a.m. Tired and feeling the previous long day, we set up camp in the lean-to and ate lunch. It appeared that the group of five from the previous day had kept their plans to hike Seymour due to the fresh tracks on the trail.

At 12:30 p.m. we headed for Seymour excited that we were about to bag the fourth peak on day-two which would allow us to depart early on Monday morning. While climbing up, the group of five passed us on their way down giving us words of encouragement. We reached the top at 2:45 p.m. with moderate winds and decreasing views. We were able to snap a few shots while we rested from the trip up. We enjoyed some great butt slides down off Seymour and reached the Blueberry Lean-to at 4:00 p.m. We had far exceeded our goal and were done with plenty of time to relax in the Lean-to with hot drinks and plenty of sore muscles. The evening was short and we were in bed at 6:40 p.m. A new record for the old farts!

1/18: We woke at 5:30 a.m. with temps about thirty and a light mist. We broke camp and began the hike out at 7:20 a.m. We reached the parking lot at 9:10am, cleaned up and headed home. We had a great time with fantastic results. We never broke one inch of trail and got all four Sewards in one winter weekend. If you needed the Sewards, this was the weekend to do it!

Santanoni Range

January 22 to 24, 2010. Leader: Don Berens. Participants: Frank Cabron, Jim Dykes, Vern Kreuter and Allan Sowinski

Most of us spent Friday night at Aunt Polly's B & B in Newcomb, but Vern stayed at Olbert's Cloudsplitter Outfitters, also in Newcomb. On Saturday, we all met at the trailhead at 8:00 am with a temperature of minus 8 and literally cloudless skies. The trail and herd paths had been firmly packed a week earlier and over a dozen day hikers were in the range on this day. The forecast was for a spectacular warming Saturday, and a dry Sunday morning, followed later on Sunday by a wet sloppy mess.

We backpacked 1.8 miles up the road and 2.5 miles up the trail to the old beaver dam south of the lean-to. We carried the packs another 1-1/2 miles up the herdpath skirting the north shore of Bradley Pond and west up along Panther Brook. As we climbed above 3,500 feet, the trees were covered with ever thicker globs of frozen snow. When we reached Times Square just after noon, the trees were dripping, showing that the temperature had risen 40 degrees in four hours.

In the neighborhood of Times Square, there were many week-old and hours-old tracks, some of them coinciding with the summer herdpaths, but many of them not. We dropped our packs at the clearing by the boulder and took some time to eat, drink and breathe. While doing so, a couple walked through the clearing four times from three different directions looking for a path to any of the peaks, but reporting that they were all dead ends.

We tried Couchsachraga first. The usual herdpath had been broken by the wandering couple for fifty yards to a snow-bent tree. We knocked the snow off the tree, it sprang upright, and we saw the unbroken herdpath beyond. Another hundred yards of breaking, brought us to a junction of firm week-old tracks with hours-old snowshoe prints. We followed the track that led west toward Couchie, sometimes in the herdpath and sometimes not. We saw several day hikers in two or three parties, returning from Couchie and we reached the peak at 2:00 p.m. It was sunny with fine views of Whiteface and of the Panther-Santanoni ridge, gleaming white. We retraced our steps back to Times Square by 3:40 p.m. On the windward side of the ridge, we were impressed by walls of snow plastering the spruce boughs together in continuous masses of white up to thirty feet high and thirty feet wide.

Most of us decided to go to Panther while Don looked for a track to Santanoni. Don found one of the herd paths to Santanoni, but it was unbroken, so he figured there must be a broken track somewhere that folks had been using for the last week. He found a possibility 150 yards down the herdpath toward Couchie and returned to our campsite on the Panther-Santanoni ridge at 4:50 p.m. as the others returned from Panther. Some clouds on the western horizon made for a brilliant orange sunset and a half moon hung high overhead in a clear night sky.

Sunday morning we saw a spectacular sunrise and left camp at 7:35 a.m. with mostly clear skies and perhaps plus 10 degrees. We followed the Couchie herd path for 150 yards and then turned south on a bushwhack track that took us through often dense spruce to the top of Santanoni before 9:00 a.m. After 15 minutes admiring the views from the summit, we returned to our campsite and left with full packs at 10:25 a.m. We made quick work of the downhill track, under warming and clouding skies. We last saw sun at 12:40 p.m and reached the cars at 1:05 p.m, missing the torrential rains that began after dark.

Haystack

January 29 to 31, 2010. Leader: Andy Ryan

Participant: Sven Vetter

Fresh from his introductory trip with Mike Forsyth, Sven Vetter signed up to climb Haystack with me. Due to other cancellations, Sven and I were alone on the trip.

The trip on Friday night to Schroon Lake was unremarkable. The Maple Leaf Motel, on the other hand, is remarkable. To put this report in proper context, I must go back to my first stay at the Maple Leaf sometime in the 1990's. The RWMS contingent completely filled the motel that Friday night, and the atmosphere was downright festive. Bill Crowe and Frank Cabron brought beers and we spent the evening visiting other rooms, sharing stories and drinking. We didn't care that someone left the door open when they came or went because the heat didn't work anyway. The only lights that actually worked were bare bulbs. The next morning, we were invited to the motel office for breakfast, which, at that time, had a luncheon counter. The proprietor arose from his slumber at 4:30 and by 5:00 was serving us an unlimited supply of coffee, eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes. As we left the office that morning, he collected the princely sum of $15 per person for the bed and the breakfast. And we probably paid too much.

Fast forward to January 2010. The Maple Leaf has been upgraded over the years with renovations galore: fresh coat of paint, new heating system, storm windows, next-to-new mattresses, light fixtures and even an in-room refrigerator. The place barely resembles the off-the-beaten-path, kitschy sort of joint that you would never visit with your spouse. In fact, I am considering removing it from the usual rotation of RWMS-approved hostels all together. There were no insects. The sheets were clean. The heat worked. The lights worked. The doors shut properly. The windows were insulated. We actually had TV reception. And we each had our own bed. In fact, it was downright posh. The worst insult of all: we paid $79 for the room, sans breakfast. I am not sure that we can, as an organization, continue to patronize such a place.

Sven, who was in his first season with the RWMS, thought that this was the normal sort of place where one would stay on a trip. Maybe I am being nostalgic, but it is my fear that there will be a whole generation of RWMS members who will never know what it is like to stay in a third rate motel with one bare light bulb, overcrowded with smelly gear and people. This new generation will insist on staying in chain hotels with a heated pool and free HBO. They will want wake-up calls, plumbing, hot showers and a continental breakfast.

I was saddened to learn this winter that the Wayfarer Motel (See, Gothics, Pyramid Sawteeth Trip Report, February 2008) has, shall we say, turned off its lights for the last time. I am saddened because you have not lived if you have never spent a night at the Wayfarer, or one of the similar establishments that are scattered throughout the Adirondack preserve. Really, try one next winter. You won't forget it.

Haystack was fine. We were back in Rochester by Sunday afternoon.

Whiteface & Esther

February 5-7, 2010. Leader: Reinhard Gsellmeier. Participants: Jim Dykes, Jim Fetten & Mike Gsellmeier.

After a four mile hike in, our basecamp was setup Friday next to the Whiteface Lean-to. Saturday, the group was intent on climbing the slide on the southwest face of Whiteface. We started out on the red-marked trail, but left the trail where it makes a turn to the right away from Whiteface Brook. Dropping down into the brook we knew was not a desirable option, thanks to some advance scouting the day before after setting up camp; sections of the brook had open water, and there were lots of boulders. Instead our bushwhack took us in a generally northerly direction, near the top of the left bank. Near the end of the brook we did drop down into it, following it a ways to its termination at a slide. From a prior trip Jim D. knew that this was not the slide we were looking for, so we bushwhacked another 100 yds. or so to the northwest until we came upon the slide that leads to the summit. Changing over to crampons and with our ice axes in hand, up we started. The slide was a combination of glazed ice, snow and bare rock – but we made it without incident. The summit offered clear views in all directions, and we could look down on the ski runs and across to the Green Mountains in Vermont. After a short break for lunch, off we headed to Esther. The trail/herdpath were well broken, so this was a pretty easy trek (there is now a sign up on the main trail at the intersection with the Esther herdpath). The main trail did bring us very close to one of the Whiteface downhill runs, so naturally we went over to investigate and in the process startled some skiers. One can only imagine what they relayed to family and friends when the returned home:

Scared the bejeezers out of us at first, but they seemed "normal" enough when we talked to them. Sa they were camping out……can you imagine, in this weather…….and that they were climbing peaks. What some people won't do – and then they call it fun!!! I'm told they even have their own club…..I think it's called the Rochester Winter Mountaineering Society, where similar like-minded societal deviants come together and hike the mountains in winter. I guess they're a pretty harmless bunch for the most part, but I've been warned not to wave food around in front of them……there was one big fella in that group we saw [that would be Mike], who kept asking if I had any sandwiches along….."

We returned to camp Saturday around 6, broke camp early on Sunday AM and hiked out – with plenty of time to get back home for the Super Bowl/parties! This was a great weekend with a really good group, and the weather couldn't have been much better with overnight lows around -5º, not much wind, and clear skies. It doesn't get much better than that in the 'Dacks in early Feb!

Allen Mountain

February 19 to 21, 2010

Leader: Jim Dykes. Participants: Paul Sheneman, Don Berens, Laura Williams, Ian Webber and Margaret O’Keefe

The group met at Olbert’s Cloudsplitter Outfitters in Newcomb on Friday night. We stayed in the Pilot’s House and found the accommodations very comfortable. We awoke early on Saturday morning and arrived at the trailhead just after 7:00. The word was obviously out that the Opalescent River was frozen as the lot was nearly full. We donned our gear and began hiking at 7:20 under cloudy skies and a temperature of 27E. The trail was well-packed as we arrived at the crossing at about 9:00. As the reports had stated, the Opalescent was frozen and we had no trouble crossing this key hurdle (see my report from last year). We found a suitable camping spot just before Skylight Brook, setup and ate lunch.

At about 12:15, we began our climb of Allen. As stated previously, with the many parties hiking today the trail was well-packed and easily followed. As we proceeded towards the slide we saw several hikers coming down carrying small plastic sleds. This piqued our interest. The slide was snow-covered with some ice patches underneath. Some of the group stayed in snowshoes and others switched to crampons. We proceeded up the steep slide achieving a good “calf burn” along the way and arrived at the summit at about 2:15. We re-fueled on designer chocolates, quickly becoming a tradition and enjoyed a short rest. There were no real views due to the low clouds. With rumors swirling around the Vancouver Winter Olympics that peak butt-sliding was being considered for addition to the next games, Don demonstrated his considerable skills at this new sport with Paul and Jim following close behind. Move over Apolo Ohno. This made the descent very fast and very fun.

We returned to camp at about 3:35 tired but successful. Paul cooked a great stir-fry for Jim and Margaret and Laura handled the cooking duties for Ian and Don, as everyone ate outside in the relatively mild temperatures. The night was mild as temperatures only dipped to about 20E. We were up early on Sunday morning and broke camp at 6:30. There was some light snow on the hike out which always adds a nice visual touch, then some breaks of sun. We made good time hiking out and were at the cars at 9:45. We changed and headed to the Long Lake Diner for breakfast. My thanks to a great group and for making my third winter attempt on Allen successful.

Algonquin, Iroquois, and Wright (bonus peaks of Marcy, Street and Nye)

March 6-7, 2010

Participants: Coleman Goughary, Vern Kreuter, Neal Andrews

We left ADK Loj at 8:20 am under clear sunny skies and warm temperatures. Three of us following the well broken trail up to the campsite on the side of Wright (3300'), just before the waterfall. We set up camp then packed day packs for the climb. No need for crampons with depth of hard packed snow cover. It was quite windy on top of Algonquin but we could see forever. The Vermont peaks were very clear. We headed down towards Iroquois and that herd path was broken out too. Less windy on top there so we paused for some lunch around 12:15. Back up and over Algonquin still early in the day we decided to do Wright as well. It was fun to watch the skiers and snowboarders going down the slides and ski trail. We were back to the campsite by around 4 pm. Vern decided that he would like to do Marcy on Sunday. Cole wanted to do Street and Nye. So after delicious dinners, we slept well until the next morning. Vern followed the trail back to the Whales Tail trail and did Marcy in just under 6 hours, and reports back that the top was quite windy with snow pellets hitting him all the time above tree line, but still clear skies. Neal and Cole broke out the old Algonquin trail back to Heart Lake and then headed across to get Street and Nye. Sunday at the lower elevations was quite warm and the snow melting from the trees was falling in big chunks like snow bombs the whole way to Street and Nye. Vern who has hiked many weekends this year stated it was the best weather of all the trips. See you all next year.

SEYMOUR

March 12-14, 2010. Leader: Jim Dykes. Participants: Don Berens, Rob Mead, Karin Topfer, Mark Baker & Cliff McKay

The trip was organized by Paul Sheneman, who unfortunately could not attend due to illness. The group stayed at the Tupper Lake Motel on Friday night. We watched the weather forecast closely to determine if this would be a day-hike or a camping trip. With a promising forecast considering the rainy one predicted earlier in the week we decided to camp. Don was already committed to a day-hike and stayed with this plan.

Summit of Seymour:

We awoke early on Saturday morning and began our hike from the winter trailhead at 5:55 with a temperature of 32E and mostly cloudy skies. The road was mainly ice with some bare stretches. We found the trail from the summer trailhead to the Blueberry Lean-To in good shape. This was a little surprising given the extended period of warm temperatures. We arrived at the Blueberry Lean-To at 9:00. We arranged our gear and had a snack. Don proceeded forward considering the 20 mile day that he had in store. We proceeded towards Seymour finding a well-broken path. It probably didn’t always follow the traditional herdpath but served us well.

As we ascended the steep section next to the slide the views of Whiteface and the MacIntire Range began to appear. We reached the summit at about 12:00 encountering Don on his way down. The summit was a little windy but initially helped to cool us after hiking in near 40E temperatures. There were nice views especially of the other Sewards and Santanoni Range. Per tradition we enjoyed designer chocolates and began our descent arriving back at the lean-to at 2:30.

We enjoyed a leisurely meal and good night’s rest. On Sunday we awoke early and began hiking out at 7:15. We encountered some sporadic light drizzle as well as a few very brief breaks of sun. Checking the register at the summer trailhead we discovered that we were the only hikers that weekend. We arrived at the car at 10:15 and quickly changed as the drizzle began to pick up. The temperature was 37E as we drove to the White Birch for brunch and then home.

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Late Report:

Phelps, Tabletop and Colden

February 26-28: Leader: Greg Buzulencia; Participants: Paul Sheneman and Vern Kreuter

The trip leader got a phone call while driving through a blizzard in Ohio on Friday morning. "40" of new snow in the High Peaks!" says Vern. After a couple calls to make sure the Loj road was clear, we decided to go in with a flexible trip plan based on the pace of trail breaking. We stayed at another gem to be added to the RWMS motel list: The Yellow Coach Motel. The motel owner was waiting for us to get in on Friday night and once we arrived we were greeted with: "Finally I can go to the bar and watch the damn game, you guys want to grab a drink?" I smiled as I knew we had found a place with character. It didn't really come as a surprise since I was greeted with a MIDI file playing "The Time of Our Lives" on their website when I researched accommodations.

The group of three decided to sleep in a little Saturday morning and increase our chances of getting a trail broken out in front of us. When we arrived at the trailhead at 8:45 AM there were easily 40 cars in the lot with skiers making up the majority of them. Looks like the word got out about the good snow. After a wardrobe malfunction and subsequent fix the trio set off. With a highway of a trail to Marcy Dam we made good time and decided to lighten our loads at a free leanto with the hopes of luxury living for the weekend. Colden was reached with a solo trail breaker and a group of 6 from Syracuse in front of us. Vern must have been real excited about the broken trail because he practically ran up the trail ahead of Paul and I. We met our Syracuse brethren at the summit and after a chat and soaking in the views the decision was made to descend and have a go at Tabletop via the crossover trail. Unlike our previous luck, this 1 mile stretch of trail took us over an hour to break out in the new powder. Luckily by the time we arrived at the Tabletop herdpath the new snow had been packed down once again and quick work was made of summiting the mountain. Views were had all around and even a couple successful butt tobogganing forays were made on the descent.

Vern and Paul get rid of some weight at Marcy Dam

Greg atop Colden with Flowed Lands in background

A comfortable night was had at Marcy Dam in a cozy leanto. Temperatures reached the lower to mid teens during the night. The next morning saw the trip leader disappear to find the nearest hole-in-the-ground and nearly miss breakfast. Once on the trail the group was quickly on top of Phelps mountain and were rewarded with spectacular views of the McIntyre and Great Ranges. The warm sun made the temperatures so bearable that we stayed at the summit for the better part of an hour just relaxing and enjoying the fresh air and ever-changing views due to micro-clouds that were forming in the bright sunshine. I pointed out a slide I was planning on skiing the following weekend and took a very close-up picture of it. One of the other two pointed out that the left part of the slide looked a little bare, which struck curiosity given the recent snowfall. Once home I found that the aforementioned slide had, well, slid in an avalanche leaving two very lucky skiers with little injury and the ability to dig themselves out.

Our friend that greeted us at the Tabletop herdpath entrance

Paul and Vern checking out views of Marcy in the bright sunshine

Angel Slides, post avalanche. Left side slid the day before