Neil
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2004
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Rather than write up something entertaining and use clever literary devices and such-like I’ll stick to the dry facts.
Thursday: Street-Nye-Whiteface Esther
Friday: Wright-Algonquin-Iroquois-Colden-Tabletop-Phelps
Saturday: Chicken Coop-Saddleback-Gothics-Armstrong-Upper Wolf Jaw-Lower Wolf Jaw
Sunday: Tabletop.
Spot map courtesy of Kyler.
And now for the entertainment!
I looked down at my Spot device and cursed inwardly. The lights weren’t flashing, which meant I would have to stop and put in fresh batteries. I had no idea when the last data point got sent out before it died but figured Sylvie would be worried so I sighed and froze my little fingers twiddling the metal screws and manipulating the batteries. I was part-way up Lookout Mountain on my way to Esther and the sun was going down faster than I was going up so I booted along the trail, crossed the tiny false summits and did a quick about-face. The road and castle looked very far away but I knew it was not much more than an hour. The air was cold and dry it was cloudless and the sunset was getting better every minute.
At 12:30 I began heading up the toll road on skis and made it to the summit of Whiteface at 3:00 in brilliant sunshine against fresh white snow that was plastered on everything. The road had a lot of bare stretches and hard pack I wondered about descending it in the dark. I wondered about it a lot actually but always knew I could walk down the entire thing if need be.
Back up at the Willmington turn I fiddled about with warmer clothing, dry mitts, goggles etc. and grew chilly. I was trying out two headlamps: one would be low beam and the other high. This was a big fail and I stuffed the high beam (BD Storm) into my kangaroo pouch. The valley light show and the fading sunset were spectacular and I began gliding gently downhill between the Willmington and Placid turns. The road insn’t as steep at that point but after the Placid turn I began to whip along and grow anxious about hitting dry pavement at 20 mph. However, the headlamp was pretty good at picking up the yellow line whenever it showed through and I was able to get back to the parking area in one piece. (removed the skis and walked 4 times).
Back at Tmax and Topo’s I was all business getting fed and watered and ready for an early start the next morning but wasn’t in bed until 10:30. Taras showed up at the hostel at 6:45 and David, he and I found ourselves a few hours later in moderately high winds on Wright.
(Literary device: flash back to the Thursday morning. David and I did Street and Nye prior to my WF/E hike).
Why I didn’t put on my goggles and mask is anybody’s guess but my face congealed, first on one side then on the other during the descent. Thus warned, we all layered up before zipping across Algonquin. Lots of snow between Alg and Iro but microspikes sufficed (bet they won’t any more!) and David bust through a couple of deep drifts. David went home after that and Taras and I floated down to lake Colden in 12 inches of fluff over a firm but yielding base, crossed the lake and experienced high winds on Colden. I was worried about ice and having to turn back a stone’s throw from the summit but it was a piece of cake. The headlamps came out while we were descending Tabletop and I was wishing I had told Alistair and Boghollow 7:30 at the Garden, not 6:30.
Phelps was long and we were atop it at 7pm. It was cloudy but for a fleeting moment the entire sky was ablaze with stars before the clouds covered everything again.
Back at the hostel I went through the same routine of feeding, watering and prepping for the next day, was in bed at 11 and up and at ‘em at 4:30 no longer able to sleep. I showed up at the garden at 6:35 and Alistair was excited about going up Chicken Coop to Basin because Inge and Cory had just done it. Within 15 minutes up the creek I knew it was a “mistake” as far as doing all of Basin to LWJ but what the heck, it was a beautiful route. There was no way I wanted to ascend the slide so we ascended the upper reaches in snow that ranged from mid-shin to mid thigh. It was a good cross-training workout. The range trail at 4000 feet was unbroken, deep and wind-packed enough to make it a slow slog but not packed enough to support our weight.
Basin now seemed like a bad idea so we turned around and faced the wall of Saddleback and had a hell of a time getting to the base of it. Here we put on warmer clothes and struggled up in frosty winds. What I scamper up in 5 minutes in summer must have eaten 30 minutes and I needed a helping hand twice. There was a gang of people from Peggy O’Brian’s on top and we enjoyed a chat before heading over to Lower Wolf Jaw via Gothics’ cable route, Armstrong and Upper.
The ascent of Lower was a brutal thing but it was as short as it was nasty. We got out to the Garden at 6:30 and back at the hostel I went through the same old ritual of scarfing food but this time instead of prepping for Sunday I hit the sack a very tired old duffer at 9pm and fell asleep instantly.
Sunday morning Alistair and I had a very pleasant trip to Table Top in 6 inches of new and very pretty snow, muffled silence and beautifully coated trees. We met some forum lurkers on the way up and I explained to them in detail how to sponsor me for Project 46. I felt very fit and strong, on day four now, in spite of all the sleep deprivation and lack of chill time.
And that’s the end of that! Two weeks to Project 46. Some beauty pics will be posted tomorrow.
Thursday: Street-Nye-Whiteface Esther
Friday: Wright-Algonquin-Iroquois-Colden-Tabletop-Phelps
Saturday: Chicken Coop-Saddleback-Gothics-Armstrong-Upper Wolf Jaw-Lower Wolf Jaw
Sunday: Tabletop.
Spot map courtesy of Kyler.
And now for the entertainment!
I looked down at my Spot device and cursed inwardly. The lights weren’t flashing, which meant I would have to stop and put in fresh batteries. I had no idea when the last data point got sent out before it died but figured Sylvie would be worried so I sighed and froze my little fingers twiddling the metal screws and manipulating the batteries. I was part-way up Lookout Mountain on my way to Esther and the sun was going down faster than I was going up so I booted along the trail, crossed the tiny false summits and did a quick about-face. The road and castle looked very far away but I knew it was not much more than an hour. The air was cold and dry it was cloudless and the sunset was getting better every minute.
At 12:30 I began heading up the toll road on skis and made it to the summit of Whiteface at 3:00 in brilliant sunshine against fresh white snow that was plastered on everything. The road had a lot of bare stretches and hard pack I wondered about descending it in the dark. I wondered about it a lot actually but always knew I could walk down the entire thing if need be.
Back up at the Willmington turn I fiddled about with warmer clothing, dry mitts, goggles etc. and grew chilly. I was trying out two headlamps: one would be low beam and the other high. This was a big fail and I stuffed the high beam (BD Storm) into my kangaroo pouch. The valley light show and the fading sunset were spectacular and I began gliding gently downhill between the Willmington and Placid turns. The road insn’t as steep at that point but after the Placid turn I began to whip along and grow anxious about hitting dry pavement at 20 mph. However, the headlamp was pretty good at picking up the yellow line whenever it showed through and I was able to get back to the parking area in one piece. (removed the skis and walked 4 times).
Back at Tmax and Topo’s I was all business getting fed and watered and ready for an early start the next morning but wasn’t in bed until 10:30. Taras showed up at the hostel at 6:45 and David, he and I found ourselves a few hours later in moderately high winds on Wright.
(Literary device: flash back to the Thursday morning. David and I did Street and Nye prior to my WF/E hike).
Why I didn’t put on my goggles and mask is anybody’s guess but my face congealed, first on one side then on the other during the descent. Thus warned, we all layered up before zipping across Algonquin. Lots of snow between Alg and Iro but microspikes sufficed (bet they won’t any more!) and David bust through a couple of deep drifts. David went home after that and Taras and I floated down to lake Colden in 12 inches of fluff over a firm but yielding base, crossed the lake and experienced high winds on Colden. I was worried about ice and having to turn back a stone’s throw from the summit but it was a piece of cake. The headlamps came out while we were descending Tabletop and I was wishing I had told Alistair and Boghollow 7:30 at the Garden, not 6:30.
Phelps was long and we were atop it at 7pm. It was cloudy but for a fleeting moment the entire sky was ablaze with stars before the clouds covered everything again.
Back at the hostel I went through the same routine of feeding, watering and prepping for the next day, was in bed at 11 and up and at ‘em at 4:30 no longer able to sleep. I showed up at the garden at 6:35 and Alistair was excited about going up Chicken Coop to Basin because Inge and Cory had just done it. Within 15 minutes up the creek I knew it was a “mistake” as far as doing all of Basin to LWJ but what the heck, it was a beautiful route. There was no way I wanted to ascend the slide so we ascended the upper reaches in snow that ranged from mid-shin to mid thigh. It was a good cross-training workout. The range trail at 4000 feet was unbroken, deep and wind-packed enough to make it a slow slog but not packed enough to support our weight.
Basin now seemed like a bad idea so we turned around and faced the wall of Saddleback and had a hell of a time getting to the base of it. Here we put on warmer clothes and struggled up in frosty winds. What I scamper up in 5 minutes in summer must have eaten 30 minutes and I needed a helping hand twice. There was a gang of people from Peggy O’Brian’s on top and we enjoyed a chat before heading over to Lower Wolf Jaw via Gothics’ cable route, Armstrong and Upper.
The ascent of Lower was a brutal thing but it was as short as it was nasty. We got out to the Garden at 6:30 and back at the hostel I went through the same old ritual of scarfing food but this time instead of prepping for Sunday I hit the sack a very tired old duffer at 9pm and fell asleep instantly.
Sunday morning Alistair and I had a very pleasant trip to Table Top in 6 inches of new and very pretty snow, muffled silence and beautifully coated trees. We met some forum lurkers on the way up and I explained to them in detail how to sponsor me for Project 46. I felt very fit and strong, on day four now, in spite of all the sleep deprivation and lack of chill time.
And that’s the end of that! Two weeks to Project 46. Some beauty pics will be posted tomorrow.
