High Peaks
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The High Peaks is a name for forty-six high mountain peaks in the Adirondack State Park in the State of New York in the USA. The number was set by the belief that it strictly included all peaks above 4,000 feet, but mistakes in the original information caused this criterion to be violated. One peak that should have been included was overlooked, and others were less than 4,000 feet high.
All except four are located in southern Essex County, south of Lake Placid and Keene Valley. The others are in a nearby region of Franklin County. All the summits are on land owned by New York State as part of its Forest Preserve. Most are in a vast tract of nearly 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) known as the High Peaks Wilderness Complex, subdivided into eastern and western zones. Others are in the adjacent Giant and Dix wilderness areas. Whiteface, which doubles as a ski area and has a toll road to its summit, and Esther are set slightly to the north, near Wilmington.
The Adirondack Forty-Sixers are club open to all who have climbed, or intend to, all the peaks. Neither Mount Marcy nor Algonquin Peak, the two highest, require technical skills, but Algonquin Peak is regarded as the more challenging climb. Twenty have no official trail to the top, although rough informal routes have evolved over the years and no real bushwhacking is required.
Atop the highest peaks, there is a total of 87 acres (35 ha) of extraordinarily fragile alpine ecosystems above tree-line.
The region contains many alpine lakes and meadows, wetlands, streams, and forests. Unfortunately, the high number of visitors is degrading the natural beauty of the region, and it has been necessary in recent years to more strictly regulate access and use.
The High Peaks
- Mount Marcy (5344 feet;1729 m)
- Algonquin Peak (5114 feet;1559 m)
- Mount Haystack (4960 feet;1512 m)
- Mount Skylight (4920 feet)
- Whiteface Mountain (4867 feet)
- Dix Mountain (4857 feet)
- Gray Peak (4840 feet)
- Iroquois Peak (4840 feet)
- Basin Mountain (4827 feet)
- Gothics (4736 feet)
- Mount Colden (4714 feet)
- Giant Mountain (4627 feet)
- Nippletop (4620 feet)
- Santanoni Peak (4607 feet)
- Mount Redfield (4507 feet)
- Wright Peak (4580 feet)
- Saddleback Mountain (4515 feet)
- Panther (4442 feet)
- Tabletop Mountain (4427 feet)
- Rocky Peak Ridge (4420 feet)
- Macomb Mountain (4405 feet)
- Armstrong Mountain (4400 feet)
- Hough Peak (4400 feet)
- Seward Mountain (4361 feet)
- Mount Marshall (4360 feet)
- Allen Mountain (4340 feet)
- Big Slide Mountain (4240 feet)
- Esther Mountain (4240 feet)
- Upper Wolfjaw (4185 feet)
- Lower Wolfjaw (4175 feet)
- Street Mountain (4166 feet)
- Phelps Mountain (4161 feet)
- Mount Donaldson (4140 feet)
- Seymour Mountain (4120) feet
- Sawteeth (4100 feet)
- Cascade Mountain (4098 feet)
- South Dix (4060 feet)
- Porter Mountain (4059 feet)
- Mount Colvin (4057 feet)
- Mount Emmons (4040 feet)
- Dial Mountain (4020 feet)
- East Dix (4012 feet)
- Blake (3960 feet)
- Cliff Mountain (3960 feet)
- Nye Mountain (3895 feet)
- Couchsachraga Peak (3820 feet)
MacNaughton Mountain (????)
See also:
External links
- Adirondack 46ers (http://www.adk46r.org)
- Adirondack High Peaks (http://www3.sympatico.ca/jgrimard/en/adka.htm)
- Adirondack Mountains (http://www.hutchville.com/adirondacks.shtml)
- Adirondack 46 Peaks (http://www.adirondacks.com/46peaks.html)