History of the Adirondack Forty Sixers
Our beloved Grace Hudowalski, Historian of the Forty-Sixers, born February 25, 1906 in Ticonderoga, NY, one of the Founders of the Forty-Sixers and the First Woman to ever climb all of the High Peaks and became Forty Sixer #9 passed away on March 13, 2004 at the age of 98, to the Celestial Hills and her beloved husband Ed Hudowalski 46er # 6.
The Hudowalski’s played a major role in the Club’s over 60 year History, doing numerous acts to make the Club a worthwhile membership, making it truly Unique.
The Forty-Sixers started out as a small hiking group from Troy. Part of the group consisted of Ed and Grace Hudowalski and the Minister Ernest Ryder. In 1937, Ryder formed what they called “The Forty-Sixers of Troy,” which was the forerunner of the current day “Adirondack Forty-Sixers.” Which it was named, some 11 years later, on May 30, 1948, at the Adk Loj. Grace wrote, “when we first went as a small group from Troy to climb, it had to be on a Sunday, back in the early and mid 30's one worked six days a week, it was depression years, we were members of Grace Methodist Church there and climbing on a Sunday was frowned on. We had our service on the mountains-that was important to us.”
Ed Hudowalski, designed the 46er emblem with the numeral 4 and 6 with the letters ADK in green upon circular field of yellow bordered with red, which was adopted on October 9, 1948. Which is the symbol of climbing the Forty-Six in which we the Forty-Sixers wear with pride to this very day. The Winter Ascents of the Forty-Six wasn’t recognized with the Winter Rocker until the Fall of 1991. Designed by Bill Embler and John Wiley, designed in blue and white and fits perfectly under the Summer Patch designed by Hudowalski.
Early hikers had often signed their names on scraps of paper and left them in a glass jar or can at the highest point of the “trail-less peaks.” In 1946 when four Appalachian Mountain Club women were climbing, on each of the trail-less peaks they left a small ointment can containing a little notebook. When found, these were signed by climbers. A committee Werner Bachli # 33, A.G. Dittmar Jr. # 31, Ed Hudowalski # 6 and Roy Snyder # 48 was appointed to develop a plan for trail-less peak registers. Snyder designed a welded, sheet metal pipe canister to be placed on top of each un-trailed peak. On September 3, 1950 the first canister was placed on trail-less Emmons. It wasn’t until 1961 that the last of the canisters were put on each summit. Upon reaching the canister, there was a notebook inside, in which upon signing, hikers were required to take the last three names before them, to report to the Historian, Grace, as proof of climbing the mountain. In 2001 the canisters were considered “Non Conforming Acts of the Wilderness Areas,” by the New York State Department of Conservation and were all removed.
The Forty-Sixers proudly have published three books about the High Peaks, “The Adirondack Forty-Sixers,” in 1958, “The Adirondack High Peaks and the Forty-Sixers,” in 1970, and “Of the Summits of the Forests,” in 1991. We are currently working on a new book, with no definite publication date of yet. We also have our bi-annual “Peeks” Magazine with it’s first issue published in the Fall/Winter 1963/1964, and currently still publish.
Grace was loved by all and was an inspiration to us all. Grace wrote, about when she climbed her first High Peak, Mt. Marcy, on August 2, 1922, at the age of 15, her father told her:
“It doesn’t make any difference whether you reach the top, the important thing is how you make the climb.” She never forgot that. “Thinking positively, not griping on the climb, trying to do my part at the campsite, all these were important. There’s another time to reach the summit, if that’s what happens. One just keeps trying, and of course, drinking in the beauty around and the peacefulness of the woods.”
She wore her oxfords and it was raining. “We’d take a step and slide back three.” It was after that foggy, back then, a three day climb to Marcy, when the clouds lifted on top for a minute and she got her first glimpse of Lake Tear of the Clouds, that all she thought about, “Was Mountains, Mountains, Mountains.” She finished her 46 on Mt. Esther on August 26, 1937. She climbed them all twice. The checkered hiking shorts that she wore on most of her climbs, are displayed at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. She devoted her life to the Adirondack Mountains and personally corresponding with climbers for over 50 years, writing thousands of encouraging letters, on a manual typewriter. Her letters to us, “holds much History of what it was like to climb in the 1930's and 40's.” Her letters are very valuable and precious to those climbers who are fortunate to have them. She remained the Forty-Sixer Historian until the time of her death, but had retired from writing letters at the age of 90 in 1996. All correspondence letters are permanently stored in the Albany Library, New York State Archives, in Albany, NY.
We the Forty-Sixers in her memory will continue her tradition of personally corresponding with climbers. Of course it will not be anything compared to a “Dear Grace, or “Dear Climber, “ letter, but we will try our best. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
“Good Climbing,” (as Grace always ended her letters.)
