Adirondack Peeks Summer 2024

a second college group successfully completed the climb and posted photos of their trip on the web, totally oblivi ous to the fact a student had lost his life the previous day. Should the decision to climb the trap dike be left in the hands of students or should the final plan be approved by knowledgeable authorities? If all goes well, you have an event you will recount with pride for many years. If trag edy strikes, it may haunt you forever. The climb by a college group introduces other questions: Who, if anyone, has the final approval of a col lege outing? What if the weather turns bad that weekend? A trip may have been planned for weeks, transportation has been arranged, and the group is excited to go. No one wants to be the “bad guy” and postpone a highly hyped adventure. At times, the groups have been entirely stu dent led, and the final decision is made by the students themselves. On a Zoom call with Heidi Riley, Director of Out door Education at Colgate University, she describes some of the changes happening on many campuses. Col gate requires physical education credits to fulfill gradu ation requirements. In the late 1980s, Colgate instituted an outdoor education program in lieu of an outing club. The formation of a program allows the college to mandate training, monitor destination choices, and oversee leader selection. Colgate boasts one of the most extensive lead er training programs consisting of instruction over a nine

month period in group management, navigation skills, conflict resolution, camping skills, specialized training in rock and ice climbing (if appropriate), and Leave No Trace principles to name some. I recently spoke with Scott Van Laer, a retired New York State Ranger, who spent years involved with many rescues in the high peaks. He is currently Director of Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretation Center. Scott recalls three deaths that have occurred in the trap dike because of weather conditions or route selection. There have been other documented injuries in all seasons. But, each year, many successful climbs have been made with no issues. * * * W hen I was 22 years old and looking for a new challenge to attempt, one of my friends men tioned the trap dike and the excitement of the climb. My accomplice was another experienced hiker, college fraternity brother, and close friend. We had both climbed for several years in the Adirondacks in all sea sons. Dave was an amateur photographer, former college wrestler, and physically strong climber. But neither of us had any rock climbing experience or carried any special equipment. The weather had been dry for several days, not that we had considered that fact beforehand, and for tunately the footholds were good and the reduced flow of the waterfall—the crux of the climb—had exposed ad ditional hand and foot holds. Often, during rainy periods, climbers are forced to take a more exposed route in steep sections due to the heavy streams of water cascading off the mountain. Our mistake took place above the waterfall. We hadn’t talked to anyone and only knew that at some point you moved from the right side of the dike and climbed to the base of the slide, which would take you to the sum mit. We left much too soon and quickly found ourselves out on rock cliffs. Once we realized we were in trouble we felt it was safer to continue up than try to downclimb

Dave Eisler

SUMMER 2024 | 17