[hobkyl]

Attempted to complete my 2nd winter 46er last weekend, however with poor planning-we were unable to. We went the long way around the mountain, and found 3' of untouched snow going up the mountain. It was already too late in the afternoon to try to attempt to summit the peak, and none of us wanted to break trail through all that fluff. Even with snowshoes on we were sinking up to our knees. The pics are of the Avalanche and Colden lake area. Mt Colden, Algoquin, Wright, and Iroquois, along with the spectacular Avalanche lake. Even though we didn't get to claim a 46er, the views were well worth the 12mi round trip.

[olmstead]

Sorry to hear the trip didn't go as planned. These are a great set of images though. I don't usually see too many winter shots of the Adirondacks. How far along are you in achieving 46'er status?

[Matt]

great photos. I would suspect that turning around because of trail condition on a few is the norm for aspiring 46ers. 3 ft of snow would be grueling!

[backpacker]

I also did Colden in the winter, went in the long way via Lake Arnold, summated and went down to Avalanche Lake. Colden has a false summit that a lot of people mistake for the true summit in bad weather. New snow fall is always a bear to break in but 3 feet is a lot congrads on the attempt. In my quest to become a 46er I failed a number of times too due to weather or time. But that adds to the adventure and memories.
Nice shots

[skiboarder72]

awesome photos! I can't believe you hike in that stuff

[hobkyl]

This weekend we will attempt Colden again, a year to the date. Jim you say you went over Colden to Avalanche lake? Via the trap dyke or ladder trail? Guys in my group want to try that, I on the other hand am skeptical as I know there are cliffs on that side.

[backpacker]

Kyle,
I did Colden April 10th 2004 and their was still well over 6 feet of snow, we went by way of lake Arnold. From Marcy dam went to Lake Arnold, from their it's 1.4 miles to the summit. We did not do the cliffs (bushwack) down the slid, we stayed on marked trails ( which is very steep 1925 feet in about 1.1 miles, but not too bad going down) to lake Colden then out by way of Avalanche Lake. The shore line around Avalanche lake is short ups and down and plank walk ways mounted to the rock walls, The lake should have enough ice to make walk much easier. If my memory is correct its around a 13 mile hike the way I did it. But much easier going by way of Lake Arnold, and don't be fooled by the false summit of Colden. Any other questions feel free to ask, have a great hike and throw in the crampons.
Jim

[hobkyl]

OK Jim thanks. I thought there were cliffs with ladders on that descent though? Oh well heading out in a few and will find out tommorow. And yes hopefully we will be able to push along across the lake as thats a time saver. -4 for a high in Lake Placid today! Gonna be a cold one.

[hobkyl]

Wish I had some photos to share, but with the artic chill that was experienced up there I didnt dare take my camera out. We decided to hike Algonquin instead of Colden, luckily at the reccomendation of our friend who lives up there. He suggested that the ladder trail would have walls of ice that would be very dangerous to pass.
We left Saranac Lake at 5 am on Saturday with plans of being on the trail by 6. Well my brother, being my brother decided to speed up instead of slowing down at a very sharp curve. He ended up parking his car atop of a 3' snowbank on Adirondack Loj Road. Still a few miles from the trailhead, 530 in the morning we decided to push on and deal with the car later. Luckily a guy from Massachussets stopped and we caught a ride with him up to the Loj. At 630 and with the thermometer at the Loj reading -12 degrees we pushed up the mountain. It was a very clear day, not a cloud in the sky. We made it to the top of Algonquin by 1030 and were greeted with 30+mph winds. Yikes! That is the coldest I have ever been! Beautiful sights all around, but didnt stay long to enjoy them. Back down to the Loj by 2.
We waited until 5 for our friend to come pull out the car rather than paying for a tow truck. His Nissan couldnt yank it out. Luckily, a soldier stationed at Ft Drum with chains and a HD Chevy stopped and was able to get us out.
It was a great time, I am happy I was able to summit the 2nd highest peak in NY but dissapointed that I wasnt able to get any pics of the mountains!

[hobkyl]

And here is the car stuck...and trying to get it out....

[backpacker]

Glad to here you had a good hike I’ve done Algonquin 3 times twice from the LOJ and once from Lake Colden. Did you have crampons with you? When winter hiking most of the time you can get around or over objects because the snow is deep, the only ladders I remember were around Avalanche Lake. If there were others on the trail they were covered in snow or ice and we just continued on not knowing they were their.(wow lots of theres)

As for the temperature snow or rain I never let it bother me I still take my camera, some of the fire towers I’ve done have been in single digits or negatives. When I did Cascade and Porter it was a brisk minus 28 with good winds and to be honest that hike I got some of my best winter pictures.

[Matt]

wow... that was in deep.

[hobkyl]

We had snowshoes with crampons but still the idea of being faced with a 10' or so ice wall did not sound appealing, and luckily our friend agreed. I've never done the trail, I was just going by what others on ADK forum sites have said. And I'm not complaining because doing Algonquin was a more rewarding hike in my opinion.

I guess I was scared the camera could break at such cold temps thats why I didnt dare take it out. I left it in the car bundled in fleece sweaters. I have a Jetboil, and when I pulled it out of my pack to make some soup it had a frost on it, I imagine my camera could have looked the same had I brought it with me. There's always next time.

[hobkyl]

wow... that was in deep.

Yeah luckily he turned the wheel some otherwise we would have been in those trees. Who needs caffeine? Just let your crazy brother drive, and you'll get all the adreline you need to wake up!