Adirondack Peeks Winter 2024

ticipated in the adventure with me. For all of us, our participation remains a life lesson in meeting and responding to a personal challenge and reaching deep when things get tough, utilizing reserves you didn’t know you had. Ultimately, it took him [Peter] eleven days, but that did establish the new record at that time. * * * SR: What a feat! Summers at Camp Poko were filled with adventures be yond just hiking. In a tribute for Jim “Beetle” Bailey in 2021, you wrote: Later he [Beetle] would become the first tripping head at Camp offering special adventures each week. An example was his “Op eration Cool Bovine”—carrying an ice cream maker and all the ingredients into the Scott Clear ing lean-to to use ice from the In dian Pass “ice caves” to make ice cream while baking a cake with a reflector oven. Your tribute also shares the origins of Jim’s quirky nickname, “Beetle,” which was naturally bestowed upon him while a counselor and when Bee tle Bailey comic books were popular and circulating around the camp. How did Beetle influence your start with the 46ers? PC: In 1966, while Beetle was presi dent of the 46ers, there was such an upsurge in hiking the trails that a camporee was sponsored by the 46ers, designed more for local sum mer camps. The two-day event was

Phil Corell, #224WV; Jimmy Kobak, #1791WV; Sharp Swan, #566WV; Eddie Bunk, #3052W; and Don McMullen, #244WV

held at South Meadows and was in tended to provide insight into the For ty-Sixers traditions. The next year, due to the suc cess of the camporee, the first 46er Outdoor Leadership Workshop was intiated. I immediately signed up to attend the first workshop as a partici pant. All these people you've heard about were running workshops. Orra Phelps, #47, was teaching about plants; Marguerite Kingsbury, #153, about birds; Judy Cameron, #605, about photography; and Father Larry Cotter, #229, on geology. Ditt Dittmar taught a class on camp cooking but there wasn't anything on backpacking equipment. Many say that the present day Outdoor Skills Workshop (OSW), which started out as the Wilder ness Leadership Workshop in 1972, was a product of that camporee. Jim handled equipment for the OSW and asked me to be on the staff, and that was my foot in the door. The following year I ran a workshop on campsites and backpacking equipment, and I’ve remained on the committee for over fifty years. I started attending all the 46er meetings. Then, in 1978, when Wally Herrod, #750, the acting vice president for Ed Ketchledge, #507, moved into the president’s position, Jim Dawson, #890, asked me to be the vice president, and the rest is his tory.

SR: You were president for three terms: 1981–1984 and again from 1993 to 1994. On March 10, 1984, at the age of thirty-eight and while president, you became a winter 46er. Which mountain was it? How did you cele brate your last winter high peak? PC: It was Hough. We needed to do four: McComb, Grace, South Dix, and Hough. The funny thing was Sharpie had climbed it with his wife without telling me, so he was finished. When I got to the top of Hough and pulled out the book, there it was: “Congratu lations Phil, on finishing your winter forty-six—Sharpie!” We took a couple of pictures, ate our sandwich, and you know the rest. SR: Yes—ran to the car! Had this been a big goal of yours? PC: Not really. I had done some ran dom winter climbs but didn’t really have an interest in the winter 46. It wasn't common. Then again, that de sire to get certifications and badges drew me in. First, ADK Winter Moun taineering Committee had created the V-Badge, so I got that. Then there was a Wilderness Leadership winter pin that required you to climb more win ter peaks as well as get advanced first aid training. While they didn't offer ad vanced first aid training, I became an

Nye, 1965

10 | ADIRONDACK PEEKS