Jay H
New member
A little over 4 years, numerous hikes, most of them in Winter (20 of the 35 to be exact), I have completed the Catskill 3500 peaks on Balsam Cap yesterday 1-9-05. First, kind of started out kind of bad, been checking the weather all week, it went from good on Monday to predictions of rain/freezing rain for Saturday. Not good! So, we bagged out on hiking and camping out on the summit there and decided to dayhike on Sunday. Unfortunately, AJTIV couldn't meet us on Sunday so we were down to Hermit (Ralph), FunkyFredy, and I. Get to Hermits house around 6:30 after making good time to there. Greet Ralph and meet Maddi who has recently finished her Winter 35 on Rocky/Lone (yay!) and chat a bit til 7am at which Fred's friend Josef arrives. Cool, a party of 4. We head out shortly and find Moon Haw Road pretty much paved and not too icy. Even the trailhead was plowed out. Trail is unbroken but about 8-10 inches of snow with about a 1.5 inch layer of icy crust on it. Josef, who decides to wear snowshoes starts towards Friday. The rest of us decide to bareboot it and bring crampons. I am able to mostly float on top of the crust in just my boots in the beginning. Most of us are managing OK with the boots.
Ralph, knowing the area expertly guides us towards the various herd paths (actual old oxen paths-I make a note that I'd hate to have been an ox back then) towards Friday, stopped a couple spots to take photos and admire the winter wonderland. Rime ice, haze. It is quite warm for middle january, about 29deg at the trailhead at around 7:30am in the morning.
Anyway, eventually, as expected the trail starts to go up, steeply at which we all stop and put on crampons for just more purchase in the snow. That makes things easier for all of us, especially Fred who is heavy enough with pack to break through the crust on flat ground. If you're breaking crust, you might as well put on the crampons to get some more traction. I was reluctant to do so cause I was still able to float a bit on top, but of course, when it goes upwards, I'd slide alot on the ice so we all don crampons except for Josef who is still on snowshoes. We happily let Josef head out in the lead to somewhat break the trail a bit.
Hit the first ledge on Friday, but fortunately, we were on the herd path so there was an obvious chute that led up the high ledge. I have never encountered such a high ledge in the catskill bushwacks (so far) that was a good 25'+ straight up. But the chute was a fun challenge that was hard for me cause I only had 6pt crampons. The front point would of been nice on this trip, if only for the ledges. I would say that if Ralph wasn't there and I was by myself and bushwacking, there's no way I would even attempt a ledge like that if I didn't find the chute.
Anyway, the rest to friday was inconsequential, being that we found and was able to follow the herd path up, we found the canister very shortly after the ledges and all signed in. Onward to Balsam Cap, we decide the same way we come, except this time, Josef packs the snowshoes and puts on his crampons for the descent which is already (now) on a broken trail. We descent a couple hundred feet below to the col between BC/Friday and start traversing the steep ascent towards BC, avoiding much of the Balsams between the two. A bunch of blowdowns to avoid and we eventually make it back up to the summit ridge and to the balsams. Ralph makes another great navigational aid by finding a faint herdpath through the balsams that takes up through the thick parts till we are able to kind of bushwack again to get to the canister. Woohoo! almost finished, we all sign in to the last canister, take pictures, do a little celebration, etc. I have finished my 3500 list for now and my 20th winter 35 peak.
The return trip is of course, fast and simple for we just backtracked through our tracks. Of course, there is nothing of a catskill hike without Fred taking some kind of spill. He returned looking more like Freddy Krueger than FunkyFreddy, with one bent pole, one basket missing, and one crampon missing! Apparently, one of the baskets came loose and Fred picked it up and put it in his pack on the climb to Friday. Then on the final descent to the car, he stumbled over a raised log, landing on his brand new EMS trekking pole (bending one) and then proceeded to break the strap on his pair of old Grivel G10s (the straps was already very very frayed and in need of replacement).
But again, he survives uninjured and that is what is important. Back to the car around 3:45pm in a very successful winter hike in the catskills. Temps were mild, hovering, in the upper 20s on the mountain but it was mostly haze in the elevations, no external views. But the view of the winter forests is all that I ever need to get out and hike. None of this complaining that there wasn't a view at the summit or along the view. What is amazing with winter hikes is the simple view from the trail, the view of the ice and snow and things many non-hikers will never see. And the companionship of many friends who were made along the way. Thanks Ralph, Fred, Josef for a great hike, one of the best ones! Thanks to everybody else I've ran into and hiked with. it's been a fun 4 year journey.
I still want to get back to Van Wyck and onto the Catskill 100 and the winter 35 peaks (15 more to do!).
So, looking this more like a beginning than an end but all in all, it's all good!
Pictures will be coming, in which I'll post to this thread.
Jay
Ralph, knowing the area expertly guides us towards the various herd paths (actual old oxen paths-I make a note that I'd hate to have been an ox back then) towards Friday, stopped a couple spots to take photos and admire the winter wonderland. Rime ice, haze. It is quite warm for middle january, about 29deg at the trailhead at around 7:30am in the morning.
Anyway, eventually, as expected the trail starts to go up, steeply at which we all stop and put on crampons for just more purchase in the snow. That makes things easier for all of us, especially Fred who is heavy enough with pack to break through the crust on flat ground. If you're breaking crust, you might as well put on the crampons to get some more traction. I was reluctant to do so cause I was still able to float a bit on top, but of course, when it goes upwards, I'd slide alot on the ice so we all don crampons except for Josef who is still on snowshoes. We happily let Josef head out in the lead to somewhat break the trail a bit.
Hit the first ledge on Friday, but fortunately, we were on the herd path so there was an obvious chute that led up the high ledge. I have never encountered such a high ledge in the catskill bushwacks (so far) that was a good 25'+ straight up. But the chute was a fun challenge that was hard for me cause I only had 6pt crampons. The front point would of been nice on this trip, if only for the ledges. I would say that if Ralph wasn't there and I was by myself and bushwacking, there's no way I would even attempt a ledge like that if I didn't find the chute.
Anyway, the rest to friday was inconsequential, being that we found and was able to follow the herd path up, we found the canister very shortly after the ledges and all signed in. Onward to Balsam Cap, we decide the same way we come, except this time, Josef packs the snowshoes and puts on his crampons for the descent which is already (now) on a broken trail. We descent a couple hundred feet below to the col between BC/Friday and start traversing the steep ascent towards BC, avoiding much of the Balsams between the two. A bunch of blowdowns to avoid and we eventually make it back up to the summit ridge and to the balsams. Ralph makes another great navigational aid by finding a faint herdpath through the balsams that takes up through the thick parts till we are able to kind of bushwack again to get to the canister. Woohoo! almost finished, we all sign in to the last canister, take pictures, do a little celebration, etc. I have finished my 3500 list for now and my 20th winter 35 peak.
The return trip is of course, fast and simple for we just backtracked through our tracks. Of course, there is nothing of a catskill hike without Fred taking some kind of spill.
He returned looking more like Freddy Krueger than FunkyFreddy, with one bent pole, one basket missing, and one crampon missing! Apparently, one of the baskets came loose and Fred picked it up and put it in his pack on the climb to Friday. Then on the final descent to the car, he stumbled over a raised log, landing on his brand new EMS trekking pole (bending one) and then proceeded to break the strap on his pair of old Grivel G10s (the straps was already very very frayed and in need of replacement). But again, he survives uninjured and that is what is important. Back to the car around 3:45pm in a very successful winter hike in the catskills. Temps were mild, hovering, in the upper 20s on the mountain but it was mostly haze in the elevations, no external views. But the view of the winter forests is all that I ever need to get out and hike. None of this complaining that there wasn't a view at the summit or along the view. What is amazing with winter hikes is the simple view from the trail, the view of the ice and snow and things many non-hikers will never see. And the companionship of many friends who were made along the way. Thanks Ralph, Fred, Josef for a great hike, one of the best ones! Thanks to everybody else I've ran into and hiked with. it's been a fun 4 year journey.
I still want to get back to Van Wyck and onto the Catskill 100 and the winter 35 peaks (15 more to do!).
So, looking this more like a beginning than an end but all in all, it's all good!
Pictures will be coming, in which I'll post to this thread.
Jay
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