#6: Phelps, February 2016 Next up: My first Winter 46er ascent. Let me preface this by saying that I was (and remain) very wary of hiking any 46ers in the winter. From various trip reports that I’ve read online, it sounds very intimidating, with the mountains and weather offering plenty of challenges, like brutally cold temperatures, icy trails, spruce traps, possibly whiteout snow conditions, etc. etc. Before committing to a full-on 46er in winter, I decided I needed something a little tamer to get my winter hiking bearings. Ryley and I were back in Lake Placid around New Year’s in 2015/2016, again to do a combination of snowboarding Whiteface and winter hiking. I insisted that we try something a bit mellower to start out with, hiking-wise, so we decided to tackle Ampersand Mountain, a Saranac 6er. Although the snow conditions were somewhat crummy that year, this proved to be, I think, a good introduction to winter hiking (we learned not to expect any views at the summit, even if the weather down below seems pretty decent; butt sliding is somewhat inevitable on the way down--but be super-careful not to get out of control!; make breaks minimal in cold temperatures; and yeah, bring lots of warm layers). Fast-forward to about a month and a half later: It’s the end of February, and we are ready to tackle a real 46er this time. We got a fantastic weather window, with clear skies and manageable temperatures in the forecast. We decided on trying Phelps Mountain, a relatively easy 46er, with less mileage than other hikes, and an approach we were already pretty familiar with (from the Loj to Marcy Dam has become something we could now probably do in our sleep!). The approach hike was easy and fast--as I said, we were familiar with the hike in to Marcy Dam, and the bit from there to the start of the climbing up Phelps was also quick and simple. Once we started climbing up Phelps, Ryley decided to whip out his ice axe. I had not yet invested in one, since I wasn’t sure I would need it, I was kinda broke, and I was very nervous about using it (even to this day, in the back of my mind, I still fear falling on it weirdly and puncturing a lung). I was a little worried that I might get stuck somewhere without an axe--but, for the most part, my fears proved to be wholly unfounded. There was only one spot where I could have used it--a very steep, tall, and extremely solid icy step. Ryley managed to scramble straight up it, using his axe to provide himself with a handhold. I knew I couldn’t manage that without an axe. Luckily, the trail was well-traveled that day, and a fellow hiker--an older gentleman who seemed experienced in these matters--was there to assist me by pointing out an alternate route around the edge of the icy step, where I could grab some trees for handholds. Following his advice, I had no problem. Soon thereafter, we approached the summit. I think the very last half-mile or so up this trail actually provides more beautiful views than the very summit itself. Looking back, we could see Algonquin, Wright, and Colden behind us--they looked stunning and it was great to see them from a new angle. Just before the summit, we reached a little ledge with snow-covered krummholz that affords an incredible view of Mount Marcy and the adjacent peaks--a view that proved extremely photogenic (it yielded one of my absolute favorite photos of my ADK 46er journey so far--see above, Ryley amongst the trees, facing Marcy). At the summit itself, the wind began to howl something fierce. We had brought along some sandwiches for lunch, but eating on the open ledge of the summit was not an option. We ducked into the trees just off the summit and did our best to both eat and stay at least slightly warm at the same time. (Needless to say, it proved extremely difficult, since you could not remove your gloves/mittens for much more than a couple of minutes at a time--the windchill was just too much.) After gobbling down our lunches in record time, we took some photos and headed off the summit, glad to be out of the punishing wind. Soon enough, we reached Marcy Dam, where we stopped to rest, snack, and I enjoyed a trail beer, toasting what I felt was an extremely successful first winter high peak ascent. I was thrilled this trip was short and sweet--what a novelty to not have to race against the coming of nightfall, the last bus ride to the car, etc.!! Before we knew it, were were back at the HPIC parking lot and heading back to town for warm showers and cold beers at the pub.
