Finising and Starting the 46

I did this spreadsheet up to compare what peaks are started and finished on most. I was mostly interested in peaks that no one has finished on yet. Here are some results.

Peaks no one has started on:
Donaldson

Every peak has a finisher

Anyway, here is a nifty graph.



and a link to the spreadsheet (graph is on sheet2)
Spreadsheet

What peak did you choose for start/finish and WHY!?

I started on Marcy because I am a sheep. Tallest in New York! Woo hoo! sheesh. If only I had known, I woulda started with Marshall.

I await the growth of my son's little legs to finish on his namesake, Colden.

-percious

My first was Algonquin, chosen for its low mileage a long time ago when I still thought noon was a good time to start a hike (wearing bluejeans). I made the mistake of leaving Esther for my last. Its been 3 years since I finished number 45 (Blake, I think) and I can't seem to get motivated to finish up on Esther.

Esther is probably a pretty easy one to finish on. Just grab a band of White-faced finishers, and start their celebration early!

-percious

Started on Cascade (cause I didn't know any better), Finished on Whiteface (1- so my non-climbing family could join me, and 2- I'd been there in a car and wanted to climb the rest first)

Knowing what I know now, I'd have started on Emmons and finished on Donaldson

Started on Marcy (yes, another sheep!). Finished on Haystack.

Woo-hoo! Your spreadsheet has only 7 for starting on Nye and that's where I started.


Why? Because that's where people were hiking that -26F day at the Gathering last winter, and I was too beat to head out to Street first...

my first was Marcy, but i think Nye last winter would have been a great first.
and my last was Redfield, very nice mt. to finish on.

Whiteface was my first winter 46er. Wow, it was cold. -30 at the summit, with 40mph wind. At least it warmed up after our failed Marcy attempt...

-percious

Our start and finish were for social reasons.

Started on Dial, because my sister introduced us to the Peaks, and Bear Den, Dial and Nippletop was the hike she was doing. The morning view of the range from the now burned "View, 54 Steps" sold us on climbing them all.

Finished on Esther, because friends of ours, with whom we were finishing together, had Whiteface and Esther left. And we didn't want to finish in a crowd of people who drove up.

I didn't keep track of the start and finish the second time around.

TCD

I wonder what this sheet would look like if it were winter 46ers. Too bad the data is not available...

-percious

Started: Lower Wolf Jaws. I was trying to pick off as many as possible on my first hike and LWJ was in a convenient place.
Ended: Allen. I was always trying to pick off as many as possible on every 46 hike, and that left Allen out there all by its lonesome. As the numbers show Allen is the most frequent #46, perhaps in part for the same reason.

At one time I planned on saving Marcy for #46. But on the hike I intended to climb Tabletop and Phelps I somehow absent mindedly flew by Indian Falls and was well over a mile up the trail before I realized my mistake. Rather than waste the time and elevation I decided to do Marcy that day.

Nobody starting on Donaldson will be changing, now that Calkin's Brook is becoming popular. The traditional route made it very hard to begin there.

I started on Marcy as a kid in the 60's. Two oldest sons started on Algonquin, youngest started on Phelps (at age 4... see why Phelps?)

Two older sons & I finished on Rocky Peak Ridge. We were three quarters the way through before we even thought about which one to finish on.

Youngest wanted to finish on Whiteface, but accidentally climbed it before he was done (a winter ski trip). He then finished on Marcy.

I finished my winter 46 on Sawteeth. I wanted an easy peak that I was pretty sure I would finish on.

I started on Phelps over 10 years ago and now I have about 16 left. Not sure where I will finish yet but I was thinking about Giant.

My friend jen started on Donaldson this past summer. I needed Emmons, and we went up the calkins brook route. We met a hiker from Chicago up there named Willie, and he said"who the hell starts on Donaldson". She has hiked some more of the traditional starters since then. She didn't enjoy the trap dyke too much though...

Started with Basin via the Chicken Coop in January of 98' one week after the ice storm. Finished on Gray 16 months later. Most of my climbing has been done in winter, that is until this year. I hope to hit 40+ summits before winter season starts. Then try for all 46 again in winter season.

Very illuminating graph!
My first was the little jaunt to Cascade...first mt. for my 10 and 12 year old daughters, and they made their Dad proud. Bagged the adjacent Porter afterward. Next year we camped at Lillian Brook and added Dix. Alas, their number still stands at three. The old man continued on...I'd planned to finish on Allen, so I could sign in to the canister with "#46!!", but ended up finishing on Colden on advice from others who said there'd be many there to celebrate with me.
I summitted to find only a Pennsylvanian, chain smoking, gazing at Algonquin, wondering if it was Marcy...he'd never heard of the 46...oh well. I didn't really need the adulation of others at that point....
JT

I started on Marcy, like many others, in 2002 and will finish on Haystack next summer with two of my boys. I want to finish on Haystack because I want them to see the great views. Besides, it'll be their first and who knows where they'll go from there!

BigAl, if your time is flexible, and it's the views you want, keep a CLOSE eye on the weather before you go. We finished on Haystack and thought we had a nice day for it. Summit fog rolled in at the last minute, giving us zero views, though it remained sunny back at camp all day!

I started on Algonquin. Finished on Emmons. Didn't really think about where to finish and that was what I was left with. For winter I plan to finish on Haystack but who knows how that will work out. As long as it is not Emmons again!

I started on Dix via the slide next to the Rt 73 trail. I'm not sure which mountain I'll finish on, but I guess it would have to be Redfield, TableTop, Macomb, Hough, Allen, Street, Phelps, South Dix, Cliff, or Nye.


I have been with two hikers as they started the 46 on Couchsachraga.