The Adirondack Alpine Journal began publishing in 1983, based in Keene Valley, NY – the heart of the Adirondacks. It began as a passion and hobby until the end of Issue 8, when the business model to keep going was unsuccessful. The following posts are articles digitized from the Journal.
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Ice: the Final Frontier
Often I wonder to myself why certain people are drawn to frozen water. Not just from the perspective of an ice skater, but to that of those who search out vertical waterfalls. And not only to view the sparkling blue beauty, but mainly the desire to smash, thrash, and climb up these hunks of ice…
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Ski Adventures in the Adirondacks
The High Peaks receive an average annual snowfall of 120″. Much of this falls in single storm accumulations of 8-12″. In February and March, just after one of these storms, the high country is most accessible. Hiking trails leading to the highest peaks are snow-choked ski-ways. Dwarfed pine trees near timberline are often buried. During…
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Chapel Pond Pass Drawing
Chapel Pond pass is a rock climber’s paradise. Some lovely slab climbing on one side, steep steep Spider’s Web on the other. Click on the drawing to get a 1100 x 700 pop-up window. You must slowly chant “hesitation, partition, emperor slab …” while you click.
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Hike the Northville Lake Placid Trail
A book review by Robert Hey, 1986. The 132 mile long Northville-Placid Trail is a sleeper among the East’s extended hiking trails. The Appalachian Trail from the New Hampshire border to Mt Katahdin in Maine is far more rugged and alpine; the Long Trail in Vermont has a more romantic setting; the Cabot Trail in…
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Ski-Shoeing
Written by Carl Heilman, March 1984 Well, there’s downhill skiing, cross country skiing, skijoring, and now ski-shoeing. Skis-shoeing isn’t exactly a combination of activities at once, but rather a combination of two activities done in the same day. Cross Country skiing and snowshoeing; each sport has its own merits. Ah, to glide along on skis…
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Skiing Off The High Peaks
In winter, distances shrink when traveling on skis in the Adirondack High Peaks. Remote summits and hidden slides can be reached in a single day. First there is the aerobic output of the approach ski over hiking trails. It is possible to reach any of the four shoulders of Marcy by skiing in over miles…
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The Zen Belay
Nothing foils the lead climber more than the zen belayer. So picture two climbers up a route on a crag. They are hundreds of feet off the deck and the lead climber is off on the next pitch. His faithful belayer is tired and certainly ready for a break …
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A Day in the Life
It was a sluggish beginning. A yawn and a stretch led to motivation and the ritual of dressing: a step into the polypropylene, followed by wool pants and a sweater. I go downstairs for something to eat and a conscious thought of food for the trail. Into the pack goes my rope, a few tubular…
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The Great Mountain
written by Geoffrey Johnson, May 2008 Trees were not alwaysAs they are thusSwaying languidly in tranquil dazeLong ago they were ferociousAnd roamed wild through the landsFeet of root and strong leafy hands Army of wood: Oak, Maple, TeakCedar, Beech, Birch and PineThen one day under a Mountain PeakThe trees grew weary and lay supine Yet…
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Ice is Nice in Chapel Pond
This is a cool collection of photos about ice-climbing in one of the Adirondack ice playgrounds. Besides the wonders of Chouinard’s Gully and the heinous icicles right over Chapel Pond, across the road, heading into Keene Valley is the classic: Roaring Brook falls.
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Out on Ausable Lake
Out on Ausable Lake in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. These pictures go way back twenty years ago to the age of Black and White photography. Lots of interesting things can happen as you travel out to the lower Ausable Lake on skis.
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The North Face of Gothics
This is an image gallery from an April 1984 climb of the North Face of Gothics.
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PDF Issues of Adirondack Alpine Journal
Here are the available documents you may download:
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Camping Packing List
For the last car camping I took to New Hampshire, here’s the list I compiled:
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The Pick of the Matter
An Insight in Ice Technique Written by Rob Cotter, 1984 “We are Homo Sapiens, the tool users. We earn The name by developing tools to increase our leverage on the world around us … “ So states Yvon Chouniard, master alpinist and dynamic influence in the evolution of modern ice tools. While many technologies have…
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India: A New Discovery in an Old World
Written by Eric Pfirman in January 1984. Pictures by Eric Pfirman. In May 1984, three adventurers from Syracuse, New York left for a Himalayan journey. Eric Pfirman and Micheal Rodriguez traveled to Delhi with Pankaj Jain, a native of India. Their goal was to travel and absorb India’s culture and her mountains. They traveled to…
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The Top Ten Adirondack Peaks
The following descriptions concern the discovery, naming, and first ascent information for a few of the Adirondack High Peaks. All of the data and drawings in this article were taken from Russell M. L. Carson’s book, Peaks and People of the Adirondacks, published by the Adirondack Mountain Club in 1927. For all those interested in…
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Mountains Of The Middle Kingdom
The Pamir plains would one day be the meeting place of Afghanistan, Russia and China. But now this high elevation steppe was not claimed by any human government; and it was home only to wildlife that could survive temperatures of 40 degrees F at night.