Climbing Mt. Colden via the Trap Dike
Using an Adirondack High Peak as a training tool
There are 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks of upstate New York (mountains with summits 4,000 + feet above sea level). After we moved here, we learned that one of the most sought-after local challenges is to bag all 46 summits. After you’ve done that, you become an “Adirondack 46er”. From there, you can go on to do the 46 during the winter or apply other contrived rules to amp up the masochism level.
While that seems like an intriguing challenge, I must admit the point of climbing Mt. Colden (4,714 feet) was not to add my first Adirondack High Peak to my tick list. Instead, I sought to climb Mt. Colden as a training mission for my upcoming Advanced Rock Guide Course with the American Mountain Guides Association.
The Training Objective
Normally, Whitney and I would do a route like the Trap Dike without a rope. That’s how most experienced hikers also do the route. However, the Trap Dike route on Mt. Colden functions as a good training route because it offers the opportunity for a lot of short roping and short pitching.
Short roping is the use of a small portion of the rope to lead clients through exposed terrain in such a manner as to safeguard clients from the possibility of a slip or fall by both reducing the likelihood of a slip and by arresting a slip before it becomes a fall.
Short pitching is belaying short pitches. The guide uses only a small portion of the rope (15 to 60 feet) and carries the remainder, usually over the shoulder and tied off with a Kiwi coil.”
Learning short roping and short pitching techniques will play a big part in my upcoming course, so I wanted to practice. My wife, Whitney, would serve as my mock client for the day, and I would be the guide.
Trap Dike, Mt. Colden, 4th Class, 2,000 feet
The climbing objective was a 2,000-foot route called the Trap Dike. The Trap Dike is a slide, short for landslide, located on Mt. Colden’s western slope. The slide was formed as a result of a debris avalanche, in which the thin layer of soil on top of Colden’s bedrock was released, most likely due to too much precipitation during a hurricane storm.
In the case of Mt. Colden, the slide (or slides, plural, because Colden has two on its western slope) released and drained into an eroded dike feature. What’s left of the eroded dike is a prominent gorge with vertical rock walls on either side that drains out to Avalanche Lake at the foot of Mt. Colden.
Interestingly, the Mohawk First Peoples in this region of the Adirondacks called the mountain Ou-no-war-lah, meaning “scalp Mountain.” I assume their name refers to the exposed or scalped slope of Colden, but I do not know that for a fact. Regarding the Trap Dike itself, legend has it that Robert Clarke and Alexander Ralph first climbed it in 1850.
Approaching the Trap Dike
Whitney and I drove up the night before the climb and slept in the van near the trailhead. This eliminated the 2+ hour commute and allowed us to sleep in later. However, we still woke up early to take advantage of the day, at about 4:30 a.m.
There are a couple of different ways to access the Trap Dike. Whitney and I chose to begin our trip from the South Meadows Trailhead. From there, we followed the trail out towards the old Marcy Dam and onward to Avalanche Lake via Avalanche Pass.
By about 5:30 am, we were on our way. It was a very beautiful morning. A thin layer of fog hung over the valley, and the sunrise in the distance bathed everything in a soft, peach-colored hue. Songbirds made their presence known all around us. Luckily, there were not too many biting bugs like blackflies or mosquitos. However, the vast quantity of spiderwebs crisscrossing along the trail that I cleared with my face signaled to Whitney and me that we were the first ones on the trail that morning. (Whitney conveniently walked behind during this section of the hike.)
The trail to Avalanche Lake was straightforward and contained very little elevation gain. However, the trail was significantly wet and muddy. Despite the wet conditions, we moved relatively quickly. Along the way, we passed by a lot of lean-tos and tent campsites, with many backpackers still enjoying their sleep. I was really impressed by the trail signage that directed us toward Mt. Colden and the network of backcountry campsites and privies.
Avalanche Lake was my favorite part of the hiking portion of our day. It was supremely scenic. A soft breeze cooled things off while the sunrise glittered upon the lake. The hiking along the lake was fun, too.
The trail contained multiple sections of ladder climbing to go up and over boulders, along with fun bridges. In addition, there were two sections of “hitch-up Matildas”– wooden walkways secured into the cliffside and suspended over the lake. (Apparently, they were named this based on an old story of a guide telling their client Matilda to “hitch up” onto his shoulder so he could carry her through this section of the lake and remain dry.)
From here, we could see the Trap Dike on the other side of the lake, running up to the slide and eventually the summit of Colden. We could also hear (and see) a lot of running water. We knew there would be some water in the Dike, but this seemed like a lot. We became wary that it would be too wet to climb safely. Nonetheless, we continued to get a closer look.
After passing to the south side of Avalanche Lake, we backtracked (bushwacked) along a faint trail back along the other side toward the base of the dike. From the bottom, we could clearly see that the two waterfalls along the left edge of the Dike were in full form. However, there seemed to be a probable dry route up the right side.
So, after a bit of hemming and hawing about whether it seemed safe enough to try the climb, we decided to give it a go. We accepted that we’d probably be soaked by the time we reached the top and agreed that if any of the steeper 4th-class climbing sections were too wet, we would turn around and bail. We got out our climbing gear, tied into the rope, and headed upward.
Climbing the Trap Dike
The Trap Dike contains a mixture of second—and third-class hiking, along with a few sections of fourth-class and easy fifth-class climbing. Getting into the Dike was easy enough and uneventful, albeit the terrain was loose and unsettled.
As we worked up into the gorge, the rock walls rose up on either side, and Avalanche Lake got further away. We managed to reach the base area of the first waterfall section without too much soakage. Fortunately, a relatively dry section of 4th-class rock gave us passage past the first two steeper Dike sections.
Once we managed to gain the base of the second waterfall section, we saw that there would be some mandatory wet climbing if we wanted to continue. Fortunately, the really wet stuff was short-lived. From there, we climbed along the right edge of the waterfall in the splash zone, which was actually quite adventurous and pleasant.
After passing the two steep 4th class sections with waterfalls, the Dike gave way to friendlier ground. We continued upward, managing a couple more third-class sections. Anytime the route seemed too wet, we were able to find a somewhat dry detour without too much challenge. As we continued upward, the walls of the gorge began to shrink, and sections of the slide became visible off to our righthand side.
Eventually, at the top of the Dike, we found a good place to transition onto the slide. The slide portion of the climb offered a ton of exposure and easy scrambling. The slide was much drier than the Dike portion of the route. As we zigzagged our way up the slide, navigating the safest way up, we enjoyed a view of the surrounding high peaks. We could also see the ski jump towers off in the distance towards Lake Placid, NY.
Eventually, after about 800 feet of somewhat monotonous slide scrambling, we passed through the upper mud band of the slide. The exposed rock gave way to the soil again, and we finished the climb to the summit with a short section of third-class hiking.
From the top, we enjoyed a wonderful breeze and excellent views of the expansive Adirondack Range. We ate our lunches and let our feet relax without shoes on. After our pleasant lunch break, we packed away the climbing gear and switched back into hiking mode.
(And like every summit that has a climbing route along with a different hiking route, we were automatically assumed to be the coolest two on the summit once the other folks saw our helmets and climbing rope. I must admit– we did feel pretty cool.)
Descending from Mt. Colden
We used the L. Morgan Porter Trail to descend the northeast side of Colden. The hike off the back was steep and pretty fun. Eventually, we linked into the Lake Arnold Trail, which led us north and back down the Avalanche Pass trail we had used earlier that morning.
From there, we retraced our steps towards Marcy Dam. By this point in the day, both Whitney and I were feeling it. We were a bit fed up with navigating all the muddy sections (I completely doused my left foot up to my ankle in a mud pit) and desperately wanted some non-technical, flat ground. Whitney did a good job staying “drier.”
After one last good break at the old dam, we put our heads down and tried to enjoy the relatively flat logging road that would lead us back to the South Meadows Trailhead. But even the light rolling terrain on this section of trail was a slog.
Like every thirsty and hungry climber after an epic day in the mountains, we daydreamed about the food and drink we‘d enjoy after we got back to the van. I had sparkling water, tortilla chips, and homemade roasted tomatillo salsa waiting in the van I wanted to eat. We both also wanted a cold drink and a slice of pizza from Stewart’s.
By around 3:30 pm, we were back at the van devouring snacks. Afraid that sitting too long would kill our momentum, we loaded the van and headed home. Yes, we stopped at the first Stewart’s, and yes, it was delicious. Whitney napped as I drove the first half back toward Albany. After my driving shift, I promptly fell asleep when Whitney took the wheel. We got home around 7 pm.
All in all, the day was about 13 miles round trip with 2,600 feet of elevation gain.
Debriefing the Day
Whitney and I really enjoyed our day. It had been a long time since we had been out together on a proper adventure on new terrain, probably since our honeymoon in Ecuador, when we climbed in Cojitambo and Tangán.
I was happy with how I “guided” the day. I was well prepared and navigated us to the Trap Dike quickly. On route, I did the basics well. I got tons of great reps with short-roping and short-pitching and managed risk adequately. However, I didn’t deploy some of the higher-level, fancier techniques perfectly, so I am looking forward to filling these gaps in my course under professional supervision.
The rack of equipment I brought was nearly perfect, and the equipment I instructed Whitney to use was good, too. Regarding equipment, next time, I think I will carry less water and be prepared to filter water from rivers instead. That should lighten my load considerably. I may also approach from the Adirondack Loj trailhead instead of South Meadows to cut out some mileage.
Knowing what I know now, I’m really pleased we decided to do the Trap Dike, as opposed to the traditional hiking trail. I liked it so much that I may seek out other Adirondack slide climbing objectives. (It’s hard for me “just” to hike nowadays, so having some scrambling is good.)
Will I track down other High Peak summits? Probably, but I'm not in any rush.
Gorgeous scenery! Such different terrain from Australia!
What an awesome day!