LOCALadk Magazine

Spring 2018 LOCALadk Magazine 25 LOCALadk Daylight was fading quickly as we circumnavigated the summit of Sawtooth- One in an ascending arc. It was crucial that we avoid the cliffs that line the west and south sides of the summit bloc route, which would be solid ice. We also had to avoid the "evil gully," which is choked with blowdown and cripple-bush. Ascending in the deep, unconsolidated snow was extremely difficult and the wind blew ver y cold. We rotated leads frequently. When we arrived at the head of the evil gully we looked across at the impressive cliffs we had successfully avoided. I had Marie-Josée, who was leading, side-hill until we were past the gully and then the rubber really hit the road. We could see the summit bloc and in the last of the daylight, with the wind blowing through us, we looked way, way up and saw snow- encased trees waving to and fro. The climb ahead looked to be straight up, and according to our instruments the summit was another 300 vertical feet away. The steep slopes were caked in ice but the small rock faces were inter woven with channels of snow, which we could climb. It was intimidatingly steep and the cold wind sawed at us relentlessly. The sunset was beautiful but the task at hand, with now more than 20 hours of off-trail hiking in my legs, was so daunting that I didn't care. This fifth and final summit of the five Sawtooth peaks felt like the crux of Project-100. It was my 55th peak from the Adirondack-100 highest list, which I am attempting to complete in a single winter. The previous day I had hiked Sawtooths Four and Two, in 13 hours, with Joe Bogardus. On this day Jean Roy, Marie-Josée, and I had al- ready done Sawtooths Three and Five, in what would turn out to be a 14-hour day. We made it to the summit, and after taking a quick group selfie we used our broken trail to descend the steep 300 feet of the sum- mit bloc in less than five minutes. We put our headlamps on and I verified with the gps that our compass bearing for the next three miles of bushwhacking through the night was 60 degrees magnetic. The woods were open for the most part and we threaded the nee- dle through two cols between lesser peaks, again swapping leads. There was no visibility in the pitch-black night and the leader veri- fied the compass nearly ever y 10 seconds. I would check the gps and a paper map ever y 10 minutes and this mode of navigation kept us on a straight and efficient line until we picked up the trail Joe and I had made the day before. As we trudged back, I decided to postpone the hike planned for the next day. The idea of Project-100 popped into my head last year. I conceived it as a fundraiser for the ADK High Peaks Foundation. I have done two fundraising hiking projects before, and have raised $20,000 for various initiatives within the blue line, including SAR training and gear, botanical research, and trail maintenance. I co-founded the Foundation 10 years ago when my son Dominic died at age 19 in an avalanche in the CDN Rockies. He and I had done a father-and-son 46 prior to his death and that experience led to his pursuing a career in alpine guiding. I think of him often while I'm hiking and on nearly ever y trail I recognize particular spots that hold specific memories of our journey together. At the time of this writing, I have completed 65 peaks. What fol- lows are a series of highlights from some of the most memorable.

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