Adirondack Peeks Summer 2025

CLUB NEWS Chris Gaige, #13221, Staff Writer • May 30, 2025

The Community Behind the Climbs: 46ers Assemble for Annual Spring Meeting in Lake Placid

Editors’ note: This article has been reprinted from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

LAKE PLACID — There are the mountains, and there are the people who climb them, but at the heart of that confluence, there is a community. It’s at times an informal community—one whose members are often inherently dispersed over hundreds of thousands of acres of wildernesses and adjoining lands that the High Peaks trails run through. But on Sunday evening, in a town whose legacy is shaped by those mountains, the sense, purpose and camaraderie was on full display as 190 club members convened at the Cambria Hotel for the Adirondack 46ers’ annual spring meeting. The organization formed on May 30, 1948, just miles away at the Adirondak Loj, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recognizing those who summit the 46 High Peaks, preserve the peaks and their surrounding wildlands and foster a sense of appreciation thereof. The spring meeting recognized the club’s newest members—those who recorded finishing all 46 High Peaks in 2024—as well as those who went above and beyond with their dedication to the club in recent years. Club officials also shared updates from the past year. It’s also the 100th anniversary since brothers George and Robert Marshall and their guide Herbert Clark became the first Adirondack 46ers. Several club officials addressed the crowd, sharing facts, figures and ruminations—often punctuated with jokes. Treasurer Phil Corell gave a financial update, speaking to the various causes that 46er dues—which he quipped were a “whopping” $15 per year—and further donations helped make possible. Corell said these included the trailmasters program for trail maintenance, trailhead steward program for education, “Peeks” magazine—the club’s official biannual publication—wilderness education reimbursements, the club’s historian and treasurer offices, website maintenance and other administrative expenses. Corell said that even though the dues figure is small, its impact is not.

“It all adds up when you have 10,000 people paying dues,” he said. “Because of that, last year we donated over $100,000. . . . All of that was made possible by what you donate to us above and beyond.” Corell said that since 2001, the Adirondack 46ers have donated over $1 million to other organizations that are aligned with the club’s mission. Mark Simpson spoke on the club’s work to maintain and improve the High Peaks and surrounding trail networks, noting that through 25 working days in 2024, 75 volunteers with the program logged a total of 2,400 hours. The work continues in earnest, according to Simpson. In 2025, the 46ers have already logged eight volunteer days, including Saturday and most of Sunday before the meeting. “That’s why I’m hobbling,” he said. Simpson said the work has centered around the trail to Cascade and Porter mountains, as well as the Calamity Brook Trail near the Flowed Lands. “If you’ve been there in the last couple of years, you’ll see the fruits of our labor,” he said. “You’re not walking in as much mud.” Simpson commended the quality of the work, noting that other organizations have reached out to him to see if 46er crews can spend some time on nearby trail networks. He said their calendar was already full for this year, but would pencil it into future work seasons. Joe Ryan, of Saranac Lake, gave an update on the club’s trail steward program. In 2024, there was a total of 2,360 volunteer hours put in. Cascade Mountain’s summit was one of their busiest spots. The 46ers engaged with 11,473 hikers over 72 days there—an average of 159 per day. The busiest day saw 620 hikers and the slowest saw 13. Ryan said trail stewards play a pivotal role in educating members of the public on sustainable hiking practices, various fun facts of the region and answering informational questions hikers may have.

SUMMER 2025 | 47