Hiking Whiteface Mountain in Winter 

The Prelude

Whiteface Mountain happens to be my first Adirondack area hiking experience, although I have been hiking in the Catskills for some time nothing prepares you for Dak’s winter experience. 

Everything I have been reading blogs and watching vlogs, pointed me to better prepare than what I was doing in Catskills. Water, Hydration, Food, Spare gloves, Socks, Ice Axe and so on so forth. 

Having not hiked last 4 months and put on a bit of weight, I was looking for a fiery kick-start to my fitness regimen and beat myself back to shape. What better than Thanksgiving weekend (I was telling myself #optoutside #noshopping)?

Checked with Vivek Jain, he was nice enough to continue the trip. His friend Kumar was going to join us and they go about 23 years back,  when they started hiking in the Catskills. The stories were very interesting on the drive over to Lake Placid. We also had Srinivas from Jersey join us, he was very excited and this was going to be his second hike with the group. 

The Night Before

Once we got to Lake Placid, we ate at “Wyatt’s” the famous burrito place for outdoorsman / locals – it was a yummy veggie with sweet potatoes. Rest of them tried tacos. We shopped at Bass Co to fill in any additional layers we may have missed and headed to the hotel. 

The hotel owner is a very interesting man Roger Jakubowski (Google him you will find some interesting stuff). We did our gear check, re-packed everything, and hit the sack early. We got up around 4:30 am and started getting ready and putting on layers. We then headed over to the hotel lobby to get some breakfast, Roger was there and there were some very interesting stories he shared, totally worth the distraction. 

The Deadly One Mile

We parked our car at Suny Atmospheric Research Station trailhead to Marble Mountain and started hiking. The first mile was supposedly the steepest section and icy. About a half mile into the hike, I started realizing that, I wasn’t in shape and probably should just head back and enjoy more stories with Roger . Vivek Jain quickly discouraged that idea and told me I can do it and he and Kumar together taught me a few breathing and walking techniques, which may have saved me and helped finish this hike. Breathe in through the nose and breathe out through the mouth and sync it with steps and you get some resting time for your legs as well. Finally, I was walking at my own slow pace and told VJ that I would meet him on top of Marble Mountain. Everyone cheered my accomplishment on top and I had a snack and rested a bit. I noticed my water bladder and water in my backpack froze. VJ Encouraged me, pushed to start doing the rest of the mountain, and told me the toughest part was behind now and the rest was going to be easier. He gave me instructions and said he would wait at difficult sections and intersections.

The Long Slog

Now begins the slow long hike.It keeps going on, the snow gets more denser, ice to snow to thicker snow. Many red berry trees all along the way and alpine vegetation. Plenty of hiking pole marks and crampons imprints all over. My original idea was to Vlog along the way, that idea quickly went out of the window after my struggles on the deadly one mile. I pulled out my phone and started playing music that kept me going for a long time. Vivek Jain was waiting at some sections and was making sure I was okay and could continue and if I was hydrating. We finally stopped at the Esther trail intersection and enjoyed some snacks and water. Then we discussed that next point we would meet, would be at the beginning of the ridgeline for the final summit. VJ also told me that, I have already completed 75% of the climbing and should focus on summiting now.

The Final Push

VJ quickly left at a faster pace, I kept walking at my pace, and we finally met at final ridge. He quickly came over and told me that there was an obstacle and we needed to be careful climbing it. We threw our poles, got on our knees, crawled up, and dug into ice using crampons. VJ told me this was the final push and also can turn deadly as temps are super low and wind gusts together could be very dangerous if we don’t quickly summit and get down to tree line. I started walking up, wind was definitely a factor here and it was cold. I kept my head down, focused on one-step at a time, and kept going up. My water was long frozen and I had none to drink and was very thirsty. Luckily Kumar and Srinivas were getting down from the summit and offered me some water and snacks (The cliff bars were frozen rock solid and I wasn’t going to a dentist after biting into it) I can’t thank him enough, that hydration and snacking powered me through to the summit.

I saw VJ was waiting for me and he came down a few feet, patted on my back, and got me to the summit.

God it felt so good to see the summit sign. Everything on top was frozen, almost like snow and ice froze time. Views were fantastic. We quickly got some shots of us at the summit sign and headed down. 

Down we go 

As we started coming down, I felt much better. Lots of butt slides and took some time enjoying the fabulous view of the mountain range. We started our hike at about 8:15 am and by the time we finished it was about 4: 22 pm – VJ , Kumar and Srinivas were there at the car welcoming me and gave me some water and snack. Thank you to all the team members for encouraging and pushing me through this hike. VJ, I would not have summited but for you. Kumar your water and snacks were crucial and Srinivas your cheers and encouragement really helped. 

Fantastic experience, it was a constant battle of mind over body and mind won it. My fitness regimen got a killer start. I have experienced something which cannot be expressed in words. Thank you once again. Till next adventure !

Vivek Varma 

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