Where to finish?

[imarchant]

I have set a goal of completing the ADK on my 46th Birthday, Feb. 26, 2010. This being a winter completion I was wondering which would be the best peak to complete with. Based on These reports (http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1154&highlight=santanonis) it won't be Couchsachraga, Panther or Santanoni. :twisted:

On another note, how many trips should I plan for to complete my remaining 41 peaks? I'm thinking two trips(+/- 5 days, 8-9 peaks each), 9 day hikes (1-3 peaks), and 2 long weekends (4 peaks each).

[Mavs00]

Essentially, you have 4 years left, which is a similar track that I was on back in 2000. -HERE- (http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/46er-flash/progress1.htm) is the basic track we took, by year. We averaged 11-13 trips per year, but also didn't exclusively do 46ers either. Hopefully it'll give you some appreciation of how we went about it.

I went with Whiteface for the "family being there" factor, which, during winter is not really and option for you. However, it's not a bad winter peak to finish on either.

[TFR]

Based on These reports (http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1154&highlight=santanonis) it won't be Couchsachraga, Panther or Santanoni. :twisted:


Hey, I resemble that remark! :D

The next step is to list exactly what those peaks are going to be on those trips. This will give you an idea if your plan makes sense. It you really want to finish by then, you might want to see if you can get a little ahead of schedule, so you don't have to work really hard to finish if you fall behind.

How much of them do you want to do in each Winter?

What 4 have you done?

Knowing this, we can help you plan and suggest a good 'last' peak.

[Dick]

I've hiked with many on their way to finishing the 46. The one constant I've seen is to save a nice one to finish on. If having non-hardcore friends/family with you on 46, save an easy one.
Whiteface is great for driveups to meet you on top.
Cascade, Big Slide, Phelps cause there close and relatively easy. All have nice views.
If it doesn't matter who's with you, then please yourself, but save a spectacular one: Haystack, Gothics, Dix, Colden.

Cardinal rule...absolutely, positively, don't give into the temptation to knock off your finishing peak early. You'll be tempted by being nearby, or in a tough period to grab a nice one. Just make sure it isn't #46.

A great answer, IMO (though no drive-ups in winter). I might add RPR from New Russia for spectacular views. Which peaks are remaining? Is this a winter round, or just that the final peak will be in winter? I don't know your location, but with that amount of time left, do you need to plan them that specifically so far in advance?

Dick

[pete_hickey]

Another thing to consider, especially since the date is a winter date, is that it is a peak you CAN finish. High winds can make Whiteface difficult. Cascade also gets very windy. fresh snow /snowing that day, can make less popular peaks more difficult i the route finding.

Something you can do... I remember someone doing this before finishing his XX round.. Fresh snow, and it was a bushwhack to Esther. The day before, he broke trail to within 100 feet or so of the summit, so that there would be no route finding problems the following day.

My brother is also hoping to finish hs 46th on his 46th birthday.....

I'm looking for someone who wants to finish on Dix either on May 13 or June 10 (this year), and will do tailwork with us on the way up.

[Skyclimber]

I vote for Emmons.

Allen would also be a "great choice."

[daxs]

Hey, I finished on Hough. it jsut ended up that way. It was still a great day with great hiking buddies and champagne. :drink:

[stoopid]

It really doesn't matter unless you expect family and friends to join you on top, in which case Whiteface is ideal in the summer (so they don't have to climb it). Cascade/Porter, Phelps are probably the easier of the peaks to climb if you think they'll actually want to join you in the hiking part...

[imarchant]

Thanks for all the replies

Hey, I resemble that remark! :D

The next step is to list exactly what those peaks are going to be on those trips. This will give you an idea if your plan makes sense. It you really want to finish by then, you might want to see if you can get a little ahead of schedule, so you don't have to work really hard to finish if you fall behind.

How much of them do you want to do in each Winter?

What 4 have you done?

Knowing this, we can help you plan and suggest a good 'last' peak.

I have completed Wright, Algonquin, Iroquios, Colden and Marcy.

I agree it is a bit early to plan all the exact trips yet, I looked at the maps and grouped peaks together to come up with the trip breakdowns, The two bigger trips may include Haystack, Basin, Gothics, Saddleback, Armstrong, Upper & Lower Wolfjaws and Sawteeth. The other may include Dix, Nippletop, Macomb, Hough, South Dix, Colvin, Dial, East Dix and Blake. For weekend trips I was thinking Skylight, Gray, Redfield, Cliff as one and Seward, Donaldson, Seymour, Emmons for the other. All the remaining ones could be completed as single trips with 1-3 peaks.

I would like to do some of these hikes with others from this site and VFTT, so these plans are sure to need modification. Another dilemma, I would like to get my wife and daughter involved, so I need to keep a few easy, nice peaks in case they finally decide to join me on some hikes.

Peakbagr, Thanks for the advise! These are the same thoughts I was having.

I vote for Emmons.Allen would also be a "great choice."Why?

Based on the replies so far I am leaning towards Big Slide or Phelps

[timmus]

I say Phelps too. It's short, has a nice view, and bad weather would not be a big problem...

I'm saving Big Slide for #46, and I remember that I chose it the day after I decided to do the 46r. I never been tempted by doing it before, it means way too much to me. It is a peak that I failed summiting once (in winter), before I knew about the 46. I was so pissed of, I promised myself that I will be back.

(I was thinking about finishing mid-august... I think there's a gathering at this time of the year, right ??? How nice would it be !)

Pete, I wish I could be the one celebrating on top of Dix at trailwork. But it's going to be my third visit on Dix. That mountain would certainly be a amazing choice for #46, it's so nice.

[Skyclimber]

Why?


I was just kidding!

I saved Dix for when we finished. The reason being, everytime we decided to do it, something came up, so decided it must of been an omen to save it for last. My girls ended up decided to also save Dix for last, three years later.
For our Winter finish, it was Seward. It just ended up being the last one to do.

[pete_hickey]

Based on the replies so far I am leaning towards Big Slide or PhelpsIMO, good choices.

Cardinal rule...absolutely, positively, don't give into the temptation to knock off your finishing peak early.Yeah, my son got burned on this. One beautiful winter day, we skied up Whiteface, which was supposed to be his last (summer) peak. Only after he had written his letter to Grace, did he remembered that it was supposed to be his 46th. So, the ten year old mind came up with the idea, "Do you think we could tell Grace that we made a mistake, and that it wasn't Whiteface we skied up?"

[1ADAM12]

I plan on finishing on Giant!!!!! This would also be a nice peak to finish on!

[Neil]

Great thread! I've followed it with interest being at 30 or 31 winter peaks. I find myself wanting to make my 46th-W a long, remote peak to serve as a metaphor of something. I still have all the Sewards, Haystack and Gray on my to-do list.

[Willie]

[B]eing at 30 or 31 winter peaks ... I find myself wanting to make my 46th-W a long, remote peak to serve as a metaphor of something.

It's fun to day-dream, especially at work, about which of the 46 will be the final peak. Like Neil, I'm at 30 winter peaks, but I'm saving Phelps for last. I envision a warm, sunny day in March '07 - with a growler or two. :cool:

[pete_hickey]

I find myself wanting to make my 46th-W a long, remote peak to serve as a metaphor of something. This is fine, but you risk not finishing on the day you planned, due to bad weather or the like. If you are not planning on finishing on a specific date, and are not planning on a special celebration with certain people, therre isn't a problem. A few weeks ago... imagine if you were planning on finishing by doing all 5 dixes. You woulded ended up having to finish with Macomb on a day you didn't expect.

[Mavs00]

Cardinal rule...absolutely, positively, don't give into the temptation to knock off your finishing peak early. You'll be tempted by being nearby, or in a tough period to grab a nice one. Just make sure it isn't #46.

Sage advice. One of the prime benifits of picking Whiteface to finish on, other than having the ability to invite non-hiking friends, was that NONE of us had the overwhelming desire to climb it. By that I mean, as tourists, we'd all been up there before and knew what the summit was like, so we didn't feel the pull, like we did with the other peaks, to satisfy that "wonder what it's like" curisosity.

This way, it made it real easy to avoid throughout the entire round we did. In fact, other than possibly climbing the slide, or possibly skiing the route in winter, I really still have little desire to climb it again.

I do know lots of people that have caved to temptation and ended up having to pick another "final" peak that was perhaps less spectacular. Oh yeah, I barely remember the view on #46. It was secondary to the accomplishment.

[Neil]

I wasn't.



Neil, how about Emmons? I'll go with you.
From Couch?

[Neil]

Alright! Have you already done Donaldson?
Yes and no. Remember?