No Way, No How
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I'd been to the Daks twice before. The first trip I'd climbed Marcy by the popular walkup from ADK Loj, in winter. The second trip I'd attempted a winter solo traverse of Algonquin and Marcy via the MacIntyre Range and had been beaten nearly to death by a storm, borderline hypothermia and a decidedly medieval bivy. With such a stellar record heretofore, I could think of nothing more foolish than to attempt the Great Range Traverse, in winter.
On skis. James Burns, who some know as "Wallhack" from RCU, joined me on the traverse. James was fresh off a backcountry skiing and ice climbing trip to Utah. We met up Friday night in Lake Placid and packed up to get ready to roll Saturday morning. We planned to do the traverse, a 20-mile linkup of nine 4000-foot-plus mountains in the High Peaks of New York's Adirondack mountain range, topping out on the state's highest point, Mt. Marcy, in three days, two nights. From the apex of the traverse we planned to ski out the famous Van Hoevenburg trail to Marcy Dam, then ski the truck trail out to South Meadows. As we found, it just wasn't to be. Deep snow throughout, the wrong gear for the job and very cold temps stopped us before we really got started. Still, it was a beautiful trip. The photo above is from Adirondack Loj Road, looking east toward the High Peaks. The Great Range lies beyond the distant ridge visible in this photo. |
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