The Adirondack Forty-Sixers are an organization of hikers who have climbed all forty-six of the traditionally recognized High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. They are often referred to just as 46ers. As of 2021, there were nearly 14,000 registered forty-sixers. The organization primarily supports efforts to maintain the Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness, and encourages aspiring members through a correspondents program.
The first 46ers were brothers Robert and George Marshall, along with their guide and family friend Herbert Clark. The Marshalls spent much of their childhood in the Adirondacks, obsessing over the collection of Verplanck Colvin maps owned by their father, Louis Marshall. They devised criteria for the high peaks they would climb—every summit rising over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level was considered, and those with at least 300 feet (91 m) of vertical rise on all sides or separated from the next closest summit by 0.75 miles (1.21 km) were added to their list. They chose forty-two summits, and climbed them all between 1918 and 1924. While they initially planned to climb only the summits above 4,000 feet (1,200 m), they later climbed the four 4,000-foot (1,200 m) mountains as well on the suggestion of friends.
At the time that they undertook this goal, there were no trails up many of the peaks. This made summiting all forty-six a particularly formidable accomplishment. The trio first climbed Whiteface Mountain on August 1, 1918, and finished the 46 with Mount Emmons on June 10, 1925. One of the peaks, Mount Marshall in the MacIntyre Range has since been named in honor of Robert, and Herbert Brook (the most popular approach up Marshall) was named after their guide Herbert Clark.
As an organization, the Adirondack Forty-Sixers dates back to 1936. Ernest R. Ryder and Edward L. Hudowalski formed a social club originally known as the Troy Forty-Sixers for people who had successfully climbed all 46 of the Adirondack high peaks on the Marshalls' list. The club later expanded its membership, and was formally incorporated by the State of New York as the Adirondack Forty-Sixers in 1948. [1]
In 1937, Grace Hudowalski became the ninth person and first woman to climb all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks. [2] In 2014, the mountain formerly known as East Dix was renamed Grace Peak after her due to this accomplishment. [3] [4] She would later go on to become the matriarch of the 46ers family, serving as club historian for over sixty years until she retired at age 90 in 1996. In May 2013, Summit Pictures, LLC and director Fred Schoewbel released The Mountains Will Wait for You, a documentary narrated by Johnny Cash celebrating the life of Grace Hudowalski.
Although many peaks that were pathless in the days of Marshall brothers now have well-traveled trails, tackling the 46 High Peaks remains a considerable challenge. Steep technical terrain is perhaps the greatest hurdle, as switchbacks are scarce. Fitness and sure footing are paramount when confronting the 46. Additionally, many peaks are tucked away miles from any trailhead, requiring climbers to find campgrounds or lean-to's to break up the trip. Ambitious day-hikers can also tackle these inaccessible peaks with alpine starts (before the sun rises) and long days of trekking.
| Rank | Mountain | Elevation (feet) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcy | 5344 |
| 2 | Algonquin | 5114 |
| 3 | Haystack | 4960 |
| 4 | Skylight | 4926 |
| 5 | Whiteface | 4867 |
| 6 | Dix | 4857 |
| 7 | Gray | 4840 |
| 8 | Iroquois Peak | 4840 |
| 9 | Basin | 4827 |
| 10 | Gothics | 4736 |
| 11 | Colden | 4714 |
| 12 | Giant | 4627 |
| 13 | Nippletop | 4620 |
| 14 | Santanoni | 4607 |
| 15 | Redfield | 4606 |
| 16 | Wright Peak | 4580 |
| 17 | Saddleback | 4515 |
| 18 | Panther | 4442 |
| 19 | TabletTop | 4427 |
| 20 | Rocky Peak | 4420 |
| 21 | Macomb | 4405 |
| 22 | Armstrong | 4400 |
| 23 | Hough | 4400 |
| 24 | Seward | 4361 |
| 25 | Marshall | 4360 |
| 26 | Allen | 4340 |
| 27 | Big Slide | 4240 |
| 28 | Esther | 4240 |
| 29 | Upper Wolf Jaw | 4185 |
| 30 | Lower Wolf Jaw | 4175 |
| 31 | Street | 4166 |
| 32 | Phelps | 4161 |
| 33 | Donaldson | 4140 |
| 34 | Seymour | 4120 |
| 35 | Sawteeth | 4100 |
| 36 | Cascade | 4098 |
| 37 | South Dix | 4060 |
| 38 | Porter | 4059 |
| 39 | Colvin | 4057 |
| 40 | Emmons | 4040 |
| 41 | Dial | 4020 |
| 42 | Grace Peak | 4012 |
| 43 | Blake Peak | 3960 |
| 44 | Cliff | 3960 |
| 45 | Nye | 3895 |
| 46 | Couchsachraga | 3820 |
Although later geographical surveys revealed that four of the peaks (Blake, Cliff, Nye, and Couchsachraga) were actually below four thousand feet in elevation, they remain a part of the list out of tradition. Additionally, it was discovered that another mountain, MacNaughton, had been overlooked and remains excluded from the list. Although rising to almost exactly four thousand feet, MacNaughton is not a requirement for aspiring Forty-Sixers.
As of December 2021, there were nearly fourteen thousand registered Forty-Sixers. Members are asked to pay dues in order to fund the club's activities—these include an annual outdoor skills workshop, trail maintenance and stewardship programs, and a "correspondents program" inspired by Grace Hudowalski. In the early days of the 46ers she wrote personal letters to aspiring members—a tradition continued to this day.
The 46ers are dedicated to the preservation and accessibility of Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness. They host trail maintenance events for registered members, as well as a trailhead steward program: [5]
The 46ers collaborated with the ADK and DEC to establish the 46er Trailhead Steward Program. On weekends throughout the summer, 46er volunteers greet hikers at the Cascade trailhead and share information on DEC rules and regulations, "leave no trace" principles, and provide safety and preparedness suggestions.
Some 46ers re-climb all the peaks in winter, and are awarded the "Winter 46er" distinction (the winter 46 season is considered to be from December 21 to March 21). This is a very difficult task due to the severity of winters in the Adirondacks. Some peaks, such as Gothics, can require some technical climbing skill when covered with snow and ice. Upon completion of the winter 46, 46ers are entitled to wear the "Winter 46-R" rocker patch. As of September 1, 2020, there were 934 Winter 46ers.
The Adirondack High Peaks are a set of 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state. They have been popular hiking destinations since the late 1920s, when the list of peaks was published in Russell Carson's book Peaks and Peoples of the Adirondacks. Those who have climbed all 46 High Peaks are eligible to join the Adirondack Forty-Sixers club.
Cascade Mountain is in Essex County of New York. It is one of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks (36th) and is located in the Adirondack Park. Its name comes from a series of waterfalls on a brook near the mountain's base. The lake it flows into and the pass between Cascade and Pitchoff mountains are also named Cascade.
Four-thousand footers are a group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire at least 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level. To qualify for inclusion a peak must also meet the more technical criterion of topographic prominence important in the mountaineering sport of peak-bagging.
Hunter Mountain is in the towns of Hunter and Lexington, just south of the village of Hunter, in Greene County, New York, United States. At approximately 4,040 feet (1,231 m) in elevation, it is the highest peak in the county and the second-highest peak in the Catskill Mountains.
Porter Mountain is one of the Adirondack High Peaks. It is number 38 in order of height, and one of the easier hikes of the Adirondack Forty-Sixers. It is named after Noah Porter, one of the first to climb it, later president of Yale University.
Algonquin Peak is in the MacIntyre Range in the town of North Elba, in Essex County, New York. It is the second highest mountain in New York, and one of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks in Adirondack Park. Its name comes from its reputedly being on the Algonquian side of a nearby informal boundary between the Algonquian and their Iroquois neighbors.
Mount Haystack is a mountain in the Great Range of the Adirondack High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. It is the third highest peak in the state, after Algonquin Peak and Mount Marcy. It gets its name from the resemblance of its rounded, conical peak to a haystack.
Mount Skylight is a mountain in the Adirondack High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. It gets its name from its open, bare and relatively flat summit, unusual in the Adirondack High Peaks. Skylight is the fourth highest peak in New York.
Slide Mountain is the highest peak in the Catskill Mountains of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in the town of Shandaken in Ulster County. While the 4,180-foot (1,270 m) contour line on topographic maps is generally accepted as its height, the exact elevation of the summit has never been officially determined by the U.S. National Geodetic Survey or its predecessors, and many informal surveys suggest the mountain may actually top 4,200 feet (1,280 m) above sea level.
Giant Mountain is the twelfth-highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Park, in New York, USA. The peak is also known as "Giant of the Valley," due to its stature looking over Keene Valley and St. Huberts to the west. The prominent rock slides on the mountain's steep western face and its location away from most other large peaks make it quite an imposing figure, leading to its name.
Esther Mountain is a mountain located in Essex County, New York. The mountain is the northernmost of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains and its 28th highest peak. It was the only High Peak named for a woman until 2014, having been named in honor of Esther McComb, who made the first recorded climb to the summit in 1839, at age 15; at the time she was attempting to climb Whiteface Mountain from the north.
Grace Peak is a mountain located in Essex County, New York. It is part of the Dix Range, named after John A. Dix (1798–1879), New York Secretary of State in 1837, and later Governor. The mountain was formerly called East Dix, but in 2014 it was officially renamed Grace Peak in honor of Grace Hudowalski (1906–2004), who in 1937 became the ninth person and first woman to climb all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks. Grace Peak is flanked to the northeast by Spotted Mountain, and to the southwest by South Dix.
Snowy Mountain is a mountain located in Hamilton County, New York. Initially known as 'Squaw Bonnet', its summit is the highest point in the county. While most maps show the elevation as 3899 feet, some suggest that more recent surveys have it as 3904 feet or even 3908 feet.
Hadley Mountain is a mountain located in the southern Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York and is the second-highest peak in Saratoga County after neighboring Tenant Mountain. The Hadley Mountain Fire Observation Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2001 for its role as a Fire lookout tower with the New York State Forest Preserve. Hadley Mountain is the highest of the three peaks that form the West Mountain ridge.
Balsam Mountain is one of the High Peaks of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. Its exact height has not been determined, so the highest contour line, 3,600 feet (1,100 m), is usually given as its elevation. It is located in western Ulster County, on the divide between the Hudson and Delaware watersheds. The summit and western slopes of the peak are within the Town of Hardenburgh and its eastern slopes are in Shandaken. The small community of Oliverea is near its base on that side. Most of the mountain is publicly owned, managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as part of the state Forest Preserve, part of the Big Indian-Beaverkill Range Wilderness Area in the Catskill Park. The summit is on a small corner of private land.
Balsam Lake Mountain is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It is the westernmost of the range's 35 High Peaks. Its exact height has not been determined, but the highest contour line on topographic maps, 3,720 feet (1,130 m), is usually given as its elevation.
Ampersand Mountain is a 3,352 ft (1,021.7 m) mountain in Franklin County in the High Peaks Wilderness Area of the northeastern Adirondacks, west of the High Peaks proper in New York State. The trail up the mountain begins on New York State Route 3 8.1 miles (13.0 km) southwest of the village of Saranac Lake, near Middle Saranac Lake; it is a popular day hike. The mountain takes its name from nearby Ampersand Creek, so named because it twists and turns like the ampersand symbol. The summit is bare rock, with extensive views of the High Peaks to the east and the Saranac Lakes to the west. Stony Creek Mountain is located west-southwest of Ampersand Mountain. The mountain is notable as the land surrounding its hiking trail's initial ascent is generally acknowledged as unlogged old growth forest.
The Dix Range is a range of mountains in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, southeast of Mount Marcy and the Ausable valley, in northeastern New York State. The Dixes are named for John Adams Dix, then Secretary of State under New York Governor William Marcy, later Senator, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and New York Governor. The only exception to this is the mountain formerly named East Dix, which in 2014 was renamed Grace Peak in honor of Grace Leach Hudowalski (1906–2004), who in 1937 became the ninth person and first woman to climb all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks.
Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, spelled Pokamoonshine on U.S. Geological Survey maps, and sometimes known as just Poke-O, is a minor peak of the Adirondack Mountains. The name is believed to be a corruption of the Algonquin words pohqui, meaning 'broken', and moosie, meaning 'smooth'. It is located in the town of Chesterfield, New York, United States, on New York state Forest Preserve land, part of the Taylor Pond Wild Forest complex within the Adirondack Park. Due to its location next to the pass through which most travelers from the north enter the range, it has been called the "gateway to the Adirondacks".
Grace Dolbeck Leach Hudowalski was an American hiker, the first woman to hike all 46 peaks of the Adirondack Mountains.
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