As is tradition on this blog, as we approach the end of the year, I thought I’d do a quick post on how my 2023 went adventure-wise, and what I have planned for 2024. Of course, a lot of this will likely change to some extent, but a few things are already locked in.
2023 – Year in Review
This year was definitely my most busy trips-wise in quite some time. Two large western Canada trips and a ton of road trips to the USA, the majority of which were in the Adirondacks.
February I joined Matt Corona, who I had met on Mount Marcy the previous August, to tackle Whiteface and Esther as my first ADK winter High Peaks. Fun times! I then bagged Cascade and Porter that same day. In March I polished off four more High Peaks – Street, Nye, Tabletop, and Phelps, probably my most enjoyable winter hikes of the year. April I had some misfortune on the Santanonis earlier in the month, but still hiked Marshall, which was a great hike in near perfect winter-esque (official winter was over at this point) conditions, and returned with a large group to get my revenge on the Santanonis later that month. In May I continued on my ADK list with my completion of the Seward range – a pretty miserable hike/bushwhack up Seward!
In June I switched gears and explored the prairie province of Saskatchewan, along with a quick stop in Manitoba. Here, I explored lots of different terrain, including achieving my fifth and sixth Canadian provincial high points. Highlights were getting stuck in the mud on the way to the Great Sand Dunes, and seeing wild bison in the badlands of Grasslands National Park. Great trip!
In July, I teamed up with my brother Alain for a road trip down to West Virginia. On the way, we stopped in Pennsylvania and Maryland to visit the respective state high points, and enjoyed a fun overnight camping trip on the rugged Spruce Mountain before visiting West Virginia’s high point in the morning.
In August, I was back out west for probably my most memorable and challenging outdoor adventures yet – an alpine rock course in the Bugaboos with Yamnuska Mountain Adventures. Truly an amazing experience with some incredible people. The views were insane, and the climbing was challenging and super rewarding. Special thank you to our guides Paul and Nick for their guidance and patience!
In each of the next three fall months (September, October, and November) I resumed my Adirondack mission, getting up to 43 of 46 peaks completed by the final trip. September was a super fun one to Allen, Redfield and Cliff. Lots of mileage and some really great hiking, also met a lot of great people. In October, it was on to the Dix Range, which featured some of the most Rockies-like terrain in the Macomb Slide, and was a super challenging day. The AirBNB accommodations at DaCy farm were great and my hosts, David and Cynthia, are awesome people. In November, it was on to the Colvin range as well as Sawteeth. Pretty chilly, damp conditions, and definitely Type 2 fun, but was able to tough out a challenging day where I completed the entire Colvin range, including traversing over Nippletop and Colvin a second time each for effectively six peaks in one day. Also met some great people on this hike, including Evan, a fellow Ottawa Senators fan.
2024 – A Look Ahead
This coming year I’ll be looking to finish one big hiking list, further improve my technical alpine skills, and explore new places in the northeast USA. I came very close to getting transferred out west for work, but unfortunately that fell through towards the end of 2023, so I had to change my general plans slightly. Not giving up hope of escaping Toronto though! In the meantime, I plan to head out at least twice for some more mountaineering fun, and finish off a few things on my list that are in the east.
First up – finishing the ADK 46! At the time of writing this, I have just three peaks left (Algonquin, Iroquois, and Wright), and almost got these done at the end of December, but some bad weather (heavy rainfall) caused conditions to be less than ideal, so I’m hoping to make it happen in mid-January or so. My brother Alain will be joining me for the grand finale, which will be fun. Looking forward to wrapping up this 18 month, 46 peak journey.
Out west, I have a few things in mind. Firstly, I’d like to give backcountry skiing a try, so I’m planning to book in a short 4 day course with Yamnuska sometime in the winter, likely February or March. I learned that Mount Columbia (the highest peak in Alberta) is commonly a ski approach, so it will be good to get some experience. Buying the gear is likely not happening for now, since it wouldn’t get much use given I live in one of the least mountainous places in Canada!
My biggest trip of the year absolutely will be the 2024 Alpine Club of Canada General Mountaineering Camp in the Remillard range of the Rockies in July. This will be probably the most rugged, “big mountain” feel I’ll have experienced thus far, as the camp is approached via helicopter and it is very remote. This video gives a good overview of the area. Can’t wait! Finally, I’d like to get out and do a more private guided trip which is more tailored to my goals. Yamnuska offers this service so I’d like to plan for something in August, probably.
Closer to home, lots more places to visit in the northeastern US! I’m planning to get out to New Hampshire and visit the White Mountains. Alain and I plan to tackle the Presidential Traverse at some point. This is a 14-16 hour day traversing a bunch of the highest mountains in the state, including seven 4000+ foot peaks, all named after previous US Presidents. I’d perhaps want to get out there in the winter as well to practice some mountaineering skills. I’m also leaning towards doing a big road trip in the fall, getting out to Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, among others, and visit the state high points. Matt, who I met on Mount Marcy and hiked a couple winter ADK peaks with, has recommended this to me and it looks like a fun time!
No Canadian high points this year. The next two I’d do, Mount Columbia (Alberta) and Mont D’Iberville/Mount Caubvick (Quebec/Newfoundland & Labrador), are a bit beyond my skill level at this point, so I’d like to level up a bit more on snow/ice, as well as alpine rock. I’m penciling in at least one of them for 2025!
Thanks for checking out my blog this year, and I hope you will keep following next year. Enjoy the holidays and have an awesome New Year!
Veg 'n' Alpine 