LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 31 There's a common misconception about ski touring the Adirondack High Peaks, or anywhere in the north- east, that it's faster than hiking or snowshoeing. I lost count of how many times winter hikers would pass us, cheerfully suggesting, "You'll definitely beat us on the way down!" "We won't, we can pretty much guarantee that," I'd respond. When you're navigating narrow trails — or worse, no trail at all — with two six-foot boards strapped to your feet, every movement becomes a careful negotiation. Each rock, tree branch, snow-covered stump, or patch of ice could end your season. Every turn becomes a complex calculation of unwanted speed, excess veloc- ity management, and the inevitable question of how much it will hurt when — not if — you hit something. Our days now began with 4 AM wake-up calls, fol- lowed by 10 -12 hours in the mountains. We carried 25-pound packs filled with two sets of dry clothes, three changes of gloves, camp stoves, extra food, packable snowshoes, collapsible ski poles, emergency blankets, and repair kits — insurance against cata- strophic equipment failures. We fell into the rhythm of the capricious East Coast winter: Pray for snow. Wait for a weather window. Ski the target peak. Rest. Dry gear. Let blisters heal. Hope it doesn't rain. Repeat. Our carefully planned peak order underwent con- stant revision. Allen, an early objective, was post- poned when we learned the Opalescent River crossing had thawed. We'd have to gamble on a refreeze later in the winter. Seward was abandoned after our sum- miting of Donaldson and Emmons pushed us against our mandatory turnaround time. Santanoni was sepa- rated from our Panther and Couchsachraga plan when we accepted that those two peaks alone would con- sume all available daylight, and then some. The number of times I've studied topographic maps, beer in hand, thinking "That totally looks doable in a day!" is laughable. It took nine years of stubborn Ad- irondack skiing to finally begin making more grounded decisions. Time to Finish Somewhere along our journey, Doug had made a firm stipulation: "Our last peak has to be Colden." We skied Blake and Colvin — our 44th and 45th peaks — on March 1, 2024. Conditions were grim: a Clockwise from above: Jamie Kennard looks out from Rocky Peak Ridge. Photo credit: Doug Kennard Jamie Kennard contemplates Algonquin from Wright Peak. Photo credit: Doug Kennard Doug Kennard skis the Orebed Slides. Photo credit: Jamie Kennard Doug Kennard displays clumping snow on the bottom of his skis during a tour to Basin Mountain. Photo credit: Jamie Kennard

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