J&A
New member
This is our first trip report and our second winter hike, so please forgive us for the amateurish sound or any greviously erroneous decisions or claims we've made:
The hike begin at approximately 4:30 PM on Friday when we set out from the un-plowed, iced-over CR56. Our parking spot was selected for us by a collosal heap of ice which lined what may have been a previously negotiable drive-way but had now turned into a problem that wasn't worth dealing with at the moment. So with the car now blatantly parked in the middle of the trailhead, we left to seek better accomodations.
The Batavia Kill lean-to was our home for the night, and the 1.3 mile jaunt was a pleasant respite from the five hour long commute up. It was clear upon arrival and a clear night throughout. The wooden lean-to created some problems for our non-free-standing tent, but these were easily solved for the most part by some clever ingenuity and willingness to make concessions regarding the appearance of an awkwardly placed non-free-standing tent in a wooden lean-to. Anyhow, temps through the night remained in the twenties as clouds moved in and snow had begun to fall by sunrise.
We set out around 9:30, deciding to make a loop by taking Escarpment south, rather than going around to the Black Dome Range trail--this was our poison. With us we carried a pair of Atlas 825's, mine a pair of Atlas "Summit" snowshoes which I recently purchased on Sierra Trading Post, and the experience of having hiked one peak in the winter, ever (Slide from the west). If anyone else has purchased these shoes from Sierra, you might have noticed the bindings will precariously come completely loose, which is convenient for when you're finished with your hike, and less so at all other times. Also, they don't come with the All-Trac crampons that are included on the Atlas 10, 12.
The first serious uphill ascent was tough and we thought the worst of it was behind us. About a tenth of a mile later we ran into several more climbs that seemed nearly vertical. At this point we were regreting the decision to leave the rope back at camp, though it might have given us a false sense of security. There was a considerable ice-pack and at some parts the rocks were completely iced over. We had to resort to using four-point stances--at best--and crawls for most of the other parts. Loose roots, rocks, ice and foliage all became candidates for finger holds as the footing became non-existent. At one point, I went sliding for several meters until I was able to grab a small tree nearby and arrest myself. That was a close call, as we were already about twenty feet ascended from the closest flat portion of the trail. Snowshoes became an absolute hindrance and I contemplated taking them off and carrying them, which wouldn't have been too difficult since most of the bindings had already undone themselves in preparation. Finally, flinging ourselves over the ledges we were rewarded with a view of the trail-marker with the Blackhead Mt trail and the feeling of immense satisfaction and relief. It was 12:30. We'd made horrible time. Almost three hours for a measly mile and a half. As we took to glissading down the western side of Blackhead we ran into a solo hiker with a nice pair of crampons and walking poles--yeah, I was jealous. We chatted and he told us the hike ahead wouldn't be too difficult. It wasn't. The snowshoes actually became useful as they allowed us to pack the 2 to 3 inches of treacherous powder that blanketed the gradual sloped sides of Black Dome. They once again became a hindrance as we had to employ technical climbing skills on the scramble up the icy rocks near the summit. At 3 o'clock we made it to the Summit, again, horribly slow going with the snowshoes. The snow began to fall faster now. At this point, Thomas Cole was a pipe-dream, and we headed back to find out what may lie ahead. The hike back was much less daunting than either summit descents, although the trail gets a bit confusing as the snow makes the switchbacks seem to progress in no logical way along the Black Dome trail going north. Others it looked like, had decided to bushwhack a route straight down. We followed an unbroken snowy path, just to be safe. Once below 3000, the trails were packed and only a few inches of new snow lined them. The burdensome weight of the snowshoes had us inclined to remove them. I adopted the Captain Hook method, walking with one boot bare and one still in the snowshoes. This was good because it allowed me to use one foot for balance, control, and footing, and the other to wear the snowshoe. My partner was conflicted between carrying hers underarm or using them to pummel me for my ill-conceived choice for a route up.
We arrived back at the lean-to around 5:15 and quickly pack few things away. I decide that in the interest of time, I'll fold up the tent with sleeping bags still within and carry down what resembled a large polarguard elephant. We hiked the remaining 1.3 miles out and made it to the car around six. With some crafty shoveling and my partner's helpful windshield scraping, the Honda Accord escaped the trailhead parking lot with minimal slipping and sliding. We hope the other hiker who registered for a 1/2 day hike to Blackhead and Black Dome eventually made it out.
With that said, what are the chances there'll be a significant snow fall before winter's end? Otherwise I have a pair of Patagonia half-bib snowpants I've never worn ready for sale. The snowshoes were pointless on this summit and at times became dangerous when trying to achieve footing. Perhaps this season a more appropriate name for the park would be Snowshoeskill or the CramponSkills. Looking back now, with the aid of my handy DeLorme Topo program, the average grade along the stretch of Escarpment leading to the Blackhead summit is a 29, with portions that stretch for thirty to forty feet where the trail flirts with a 55 percent grade. This is pretty steep. Now, I've heard that the trail along the Burrough's Range Traverse (average grade = 14, max = 51 midway up Slide) is one of the hardest in the Catskills, but I thought this one was quite tough as well. What does everyone else think?
The hike begin at approximately 4:30 PM on Friday when we set out from the un-plowed, iced-over CR56. Our parking spot was selected for us by a collosal heap of ice which lined what may have been a previously negotiable drive-way but had now turned into a problem that wasn't worth dealing with at the moment. So with the car now blatantly parked in the middle of the trailhead, we left to seek better accomodations.
The Batavia Kill lean-to was our home for the night, and the 1.3 mile jaunt was a pleasant respite from the five hour long commute up. It was clear upon arrival and a clear night throughout. The wooden lean-to created some problems for our non-free-standing tent, but these were easily solved for the most part by some clever ingenuity and willingness to make concessions regarding the appearance of an awkwardly placed non-free-standing tent in a wooden lean-to. Anyhow, temps through the night remained in the twenties as clouds moved in and snow had begun to fall by sunrise.
We set out around 9:30, deciding to make a loop by taking Escarpment south, rather than going around to the Black Dome Range trail--this was our poison. With us we carried a pair of Atlas 825's, mine a pair of Atlas "Summit" snowshoes which I recently purchased on Sierra Trading Post, and the experience of having hiked one peak in the winter, ever (Slide from the west). If anyone else has purchased these shoes from Sierra, you might have noticed the bindings will precariously come completely loose, which is convenient for when you're finished with your hike, and less so at all other times. Also, they don't come with the All-Trac crampons that are included on the Atlas 10, 12.
The first serious uphill ascent was tough and we thought the worst of it was behind us. About a tenth of a mile later we ran into several more climbs that seemed nearly vertical. At this point we were regreting the decision to leave the rope back at camp, though it might have given us a false sense of security. There was a considerable ice-pack and at some parts the rocks were completely iced over. We had to resort to using four-point stances--at best--and crawls for most of the other parts. Loose roots, rocks, ice and foliage all became candidates for finger holds as the footing became non-existent. At one point, I went sliding for several meters until I was able to grab a small tree nearby and arrest myself. That was a close call, as we were already about twenty feet ascended from the closest flat portion of the trail. Snowshoes became an absolute hindrance and I contemplated taking them off and carrying them, which wouldn't have been too difficult since most of the bindings had already undone themselves in preparation. Finally, flinging ourselves over the ledges we were rewarded with a view of the trail-marker with the Blackhead Mt trail and the feeling of immense satisfaction and relief. It was 12:30. We'd made horrible time. Almost three hours for a measly mile and a half. As we took to glissading down the western side of Blackhead we ran into a solo hiker with a nice pair of crampons and walking poles--yeah, I was jealous. We chatted and he told us the hike ahead wouldn't be too difficult. It wasn't. The snowshoes actually became useful as they allowed us to pack the 2 to 3 inches of treacherous powder that blanketed the gradual sloped sides of Black Dome. They once again became a hindrance as we had to employ technical climbing skills on the scramble up the icy rocks near the summit. At 3 o'clock we made it to the Summit, again, horribly slow going with the snowshoes. The snow began to fall faster now. At this point, Thomas Cole was a pipe-dream, and we headed back to find out what may lie ahead. The hike back was much less daunting than either summit descents, although the trail gets a bit confusing as the snow makes the switchbacks seem to progress in no logical way along the Black Dome trail going north. Others it looked like, had decided to bushwhack a route straight down. We followed an unbroken snowy path, just to be safe. Once below 3000, the trails were packed and only a few inches of new snow lined them. The burdensome weight of the snowshoes had us inclined to remove them. I adopted the Captain Hook method, walking with one boot bare and one still in the snowshoes. This was good because it allowed me to use one foot for balance, control, and footing, and the other to wear the snowshoe. My partner was conflicted between carrying hers underarm or using them to pummel me for my ill-conceived choice for a route up.
We arrived back at the lean-to around 5:15 and quickly pack few things away. I decide that in the interest of time, I'll fold up the tent with sleeping bags still within and carry down what resembled a large polarguard elephant. We hiked the remaining 1.3 miles out and made it to the car around six. With some crafty shoveling and my partner's helpful windshield scraping, the Honda Accord escaped the trailhead parking lot with minimal slipping and sliding. We hope the other hiker who registered for a 1/2 day hike to Blackhead and Black Dome eventually made it out.
With that said, what are the chances there'll be a significant snow fall before winter's end? Otherwise I have a pair of Patagonia half-bib snowpants I've never worn ready for sale. The snowshoes were pointless on this summit and at times became dangerous when trying to achieve footing. Perhaps this season a more appropriate name for the park would be Snowshoeskill or the CramponSkills. Looking back now, with the aid of my handy DeLorme Topo program, the average grade along the stretch of Escarpment leading to the Blackhead summit is a 29, with portions that stretch for thirty to forty feet where the trail flirts with a 55 percent grade. This is pretty steep. Now, I've heard that the trail along the Burrough's Range Traverse (average grade = 14, max = 51 midway up Slide) is one of the hardest in the Catskills, but I thought this one was quite tough as well. What does everyone else think?
) and I simply used crampons to do Blackhead and passed a lot of folks in snowshoes. 
