Sean Carpenter – Photographs and Work
Personal Photography and Work
The title comes from the dire warning from the NOAA weather advisory, and is in response to the near-zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures and high winds across the Adirondacks. The rest of the title is, of course,…
Conditions in the Adirondacks in spring are usually variable and can present a different set of challenges to winter or summer hiking. This day was warm (for April) and changed from sunny to snow to ‘wintry mix’ to light rain to sunny again — fairly typical.
Had a beautiful bluebird day to hike Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge. Temps in the 30s (F) at our 8:30am start, cooler at elevation, then warming to 51F back at the trailhead. Round trip time…
I know this will sound strange to all you frigophobes: 6 hours tromping around the snow in sub-15°F (sub-minus 10°C) is really quite fun. The hardest part is getting from the house to your car; once you’re stomping down fluffy white snow, and especially once you start climbing a mountain, you barely notice the temperature.
I took advantage of the last sunny forecast for a few days by hiking Colvin & Blake, two peaks which aren’t known for their views. As always, Colvin proved to be quite nice but Blake…
Despite being the shortest and easiest pair of Adirondack High Peaks, even these aren’t always “easy”. Hiking was uneventful (but pretty!) until we hit the open summit rock. Upon exiting the cover of the trees, we were immediately hit with constant 30mph winds and gusts high enough to knock me over.
I was a bit surprised (happily) that both Dial and Nippletop have received a decent amount of snow. There was 3-5″ above 4,000′ elevation. Nippletop was cold and the wind was whipping. I used spikes…
Not exactly ideal conditions to enjoy a hike, it was warm, humid, and wet. When the Van Hoevenberg trail had running water on it, I knew that it would be a sopping mess getting to TableTop.
This hike was supporting Neil Luckhurst and his Project 100, which is raising funds for the ADK High Peaks Foundation.
Yesterday perfectly encapsulated shoulder season: A nice 3-4″ of cool snow on the way in; about 6″ of snow (drifting in places) at elevation; icy steep pitches, sometimes hiding under powdered snow; warming sunshine melting low-lying snow by the end of the day creating wide mud swaths.
We opted for a short climb of Mount Colden, up and back via Lake Arnold. This is our third trip along this route together, our first time was our 46th peak.
