Hiking

Peak Baggers’ Integrity

/ Andrew Szalay / 1 Comment

Yesterday, it was reported that South Korean mountaineer Oh Eun-Sun was denied the right to have the title as the first woman to have ascended all 14 of the world highest peaks.  According to the Korean Alpine Federation, there were doubts as to whether her final summit of the circuit, on Kanchenchunga (28,169 ft./8,586 m.), were true. 

Whether her ascent was genuine or fabricated, the integrity of what people consider success in hiking and climbing is closely guarded by associations like the KAF and other national alpine organizations.  Does it matter to the rest of the world whether Oh actually climbed all 14 peaks?  It does to the next guy, and certainly to the next woman, who is trying. 

Records of our ascents made, trails hiked and distances kept are important if you are trying to develop a list of accomplishments; if we are going to tout it, we better be ready for the audit.  The validity of climbing and hiking records are often scrutinized similar to a golf score: If you moved the ball, even if nobody saw it, would you call a penalty stroke on yourself? 

I have kept terrible records of my hikes and climbs, but it might not matter for me.  I hike and climb for myself and my closest friends.  I enjoy my friends’ and acquaintances’ eyes going wide when I tell them about the conditions I traversed and what I saw.  The actual experience was personal, but the stories – and the reactions – are a source of satisfaction. 

If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed.

Scenery Junkies

/ Andrew Szalay / Leave a comment

The majority of my time enjoying the mountains is through photos in coffee table books, Backpacker and Climbing magazines, and my own pictures — and the majority of my own shots are about ten years old now.  The photos the professional mountain photographers give me a glimpse of ranges I have not been to and a sense of the risks of the climb. 

Some of my photos fail to show the true depth of the features or give a sense of the vertical perspective.  I am often left apologizing to my friends when they look at my pictures.  Most of them have never climbed a mountain, so they don’t know what it’s like, so I say, “Well, the picture just doesn’t do it justice.”  But the photos in Backpacker and Climbing often seem fanciful or doctored to the non-hiker/climber.  So it is hard to express how those photos are often a better representation of what I saw.   

Regardless that I sound like a photo-loony to my friends, I appreciate those professional photos immensely.  I like the classic ones by done in black and white by Ansel Adams and Bradford Washburn that accurately show the dimensions of the mountain side with dream-like wonder.  When I flip through Alpinist, Climbing, gear catalogs and some other publications, many of those amazing photos come from mountain photographer Jimmy Chin. 

Chin has been climbing for years and continues to do so.  He’s made ascents in the Himalayas and elsewhere, but it’s what he shares that makes him special to the hiking and climbing world.  He is a gifted photographer that brings the depth, colors and sense of the place to me through his photos. 

He will be at the National Geographic Society headquarters tonight and I am looking forward to hearing his stories and taking in his slide show.  I will let you know how it goes. 

If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed.

Mount Washington: Take the Ambitious Way and Avoid Crowds

/ Andrew Szalay / 2 Comments

Despite some down-sides, Mount Washington (6,288 ft./1,917 m.) in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is well worth the visit.  While the crowds can be a bit overwhelming – and the summit itself underwhelming – for we hikers seeking wilderness scenery, the alpine ridges of the Presidential Range are among the longest exposed ridges in the region.  But to avoid the crowds taking the direct trails, rail or the auto road to the summit take the long way up via the Glen Boulder and Lawn Cutoff Trails and take-in an extended tour of the alpine zone.

It has to be noted that the majority of this route is above treeline and will expose a hiker to the threats of the mountain.  Mount Washington has been called the most dangerous small mountain in the world and for good reason: Here the highest recorded wind speed was recorded and many have fallen or suffered from hypothermia in all seasons.  It is recommended that hikers on the mountain know the safest, quickest route to get below treeline if harsh weather comes through.  Bring the Ten Essentials plus a full rain suite, gloves and a wool cap.  The first time I climbed in the range was during the month of August and I used the gloves and the cap against the wind; I was grateful I packed them.

This long route from the east avoids the popular Tuckerman Ravine Trail as well as the auto road well to the north.  The trailhead is located on Route 16 less than a mile south of the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor Center.  The Trailhead starts at 1,829 ft./557 m. and within two mi./3.2 km. and an ascent of about 2,800 ft./853 m. the trees give way to the alpine zone.  The trail takes you over Slide Peak (4,806 ft./1,465 m.), a moderately prominent high point along the ridge.  Shortly thereafter, the trail comes to a tee at the Davis Path; going right takes you north toward the summit.  Continue walking along the field or “lawn” of boulders the size of love seats for 1 mi./1.6 km. to the Lawn Cutoff Trail junction.  If the weather is clear you’ll clearly the see the summit and know to continue north for just under 1 mi./1.6 km.  Returning by the same paths makes a round trip distance of 11.1 mi./17.9 km.

Alternatively, if you wish to avoid Mount Washington, its gift shop and antennae altogether, from the Lawn Cutoff junction you can take the Camel Trail to the Crawford Path heading south and bag Mount Monroe’s summit (5,372 ft./1,637 m.).  It is also a reasonably satisfying hike.  The total trip is roughly equidistant.

  • Roundtrip to Mount Washington: 11.1 mi./ 17.9 km.
  • Total elevation gained: 4,459 ft./1,359 m.
  • Roundtrip to trip to Mount Monroe alone: 10.2 mi./17.3 km.
  • Total elevation gained: 3,543 ft./1,080 m.
  • Best Map: AMC White Mountains Map 1 of the Presidential Range

If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed; click here.

Medevac: Encourage Improvements Don’t Require Them

/ Andrew Szalay / Leave a comment

The USA Today reported on Thursday, August 19th that the medevac industry is resisting safety improvements to the helicopter fleet.   At first blush to a hiker or climber, the changes the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is seeking be mandated seem more than reasonable.  However, these could have server financial consequences that might limit rescue service, raise the rescued person’s expenses for being retrieved and increase insurance costs. 

Despite that a high number of deaths and accidents have occurred in the recent months involving medevac, the people entering the wilderness have assumed the risk (in my book) by going into the backcountry.  Hikers and climbers are very knowledgeable today about the risks and that even a rescue is dangerous. 

The NTSB wants to require that medevac helicopters all be equipped with night vision goggles and certain safety alarms regarding terrain.  These are costly and the medevac industry said they encourage them but do not require them because of the cost.  These are expensive purchases and would effect every medevac business’ bottom line. 

How would they pay for it?  By limiting other services by hiring less expensive pilots and medical technicians.  Or the price would be seen on your bill.  It is also like to raise the premiums of adventure travel insurance.  The NTSB is talking about a perfect world.  Unfortunately we live in an expensive one.  One that we as hikers and climbers should know the risks. 

Let me know if you think differently, and please subscribe to my RSS feed if you find this and my other posts interesting.

Mount Katahdin

/ Andrew Szalay / 1 Comment

It has been a long, good journey, which is why I have not posted a new article in over a week.  I just completed a 2,000-plus-mile road trip in our new Subaru Outback, covering some of the Maritime Provinces and all of the New England states.  On the drive up north from Peaklessburg, I took in Mount Katahdin for the first time.

Before I go on, I must confess that I once underestimated this mountain.  Katahdin is Maine’s highest peak in Baxter State Park (an hour-and-a-half drive from Bangor, Maine) with an elevation of 5,267 feet / 1,605 meters and is the final destination of thru hikers of the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail (AT). Unfortunately, based on the photos I’d seen years ago, stories from Adirondack hikers I met, and the fact that Katahdin rises as mainly the sole mountain massif from what I once considered a dull, featureless forest made the peak completely uninteresting to me.  I was wrong to make such judgments.

In terms of the AT, Katahdin’s mountain features overtake all other peaks on the Appalachian Trail south of Presidential Range.  For instance, Clingmans Dome, a tree covered peak in the Smoky Mountains, is gently rounded; in fact, an auto route was constructed to its summit, like that on massive Mount Washington.  Katahdin by contrast, is like a miniature version of Mount Logan in the Yukon Territory.  Okay, that might be a big stretch.  Katahdin is not covered in glaciers and snow year-round.  However, both stand alone on plains and rise and stretch at length rather than a beautiful conical peak.  On Katahdin, the peak ascends through a combination of moderately sloped arms alongside deep cirques created by former glaciers.  In addition, the forests of northern Maine are beautiful too, and I would think crossing such country without a maintained trail would be a challenge in its own right.

While the AT route takes thru hikers up the Hunt Trail straight to the summit, the most spectacular path on the mountain is the Knife Edge Trail, which links Katahdin’s South Peak (5241 feet / 1,597 meters) and Pamola Peak (4,902 feet / 1,494 meters).  A local told me that the trail was so narrow on either side at times that it had to be straddled with one leg on each side.  Truth be told, it is not that narrow.  However, when the south flank of the mountain is on one side and the South Basin (with a drop of approximately 2,000 feet over half-a-mile) on the northern side is separated by a mere several feet (two or three at parts), the route is extremely dangerous and should be attempted only in relatively calm winds and dry weather.  There are alternatives to getting around this trail by heading north from South Summit instead and taking the Saddle Trail.

Now back in Peaklessburg I can say that Katahdin is well worth the visit – not for settling for lower standards or because it is the terminus of the AT or because I have been in the city too long.  Katahdin stands as one of the northeast’s formidable mountains in its own right.  If you have climbed its summit I would love to hear your story, so please leave a comment or email me.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to my RSS Feed.