Winter Hiking in the Macintyre Range, New York State
Take on the impressive MacIntyre Range hike in the Adirondack Mountains - learning winter mountaineering skills as you go
Trip Ref #10108
Winter Hiking in the Macintyre Range, New York State
Take on the impressive MacIntyre Range hike in the Adirondack Mountains - learning winter mountaineering skills as you go
DURATION
2 nights
LOCATION
USA
ANNUAL LEAVE
1 day
SEASON
Dec-Feb
GROUP SIZE
Up to 9 people
MEETING POINT
Central Manhattan
ACCOMMODATION
Lodge
OVERALL RATING
0.0
DIFFICULTY
Tough
This trip requires a good level of fitness and some previous winter experience but no technical skills are needed.
Tackle three challenging peaks in The MacIntyre Range - one of the Adirondack Mountains most impressive and beautiful ranges - and be rewarded with panoramic winter-wonderland views.
Learn beginner mountaineering skills while hiking with crampons, ice axes, and snowshoes. Discover how to stay warm and safe in harsh winter conditions.
Warm up next to the stone fireplace and refuel with home-cooked meals at your base, a historic lodge on Lake Placid in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.
Day 1
Head to the Adirondacks
Hiking
2 hours · 2 miles · 692ft up · 692ft down
Depart at 07:00, and enjoy a stop for lunch en route at Lake Placid - the site of the 1980 Winter Olympics - before arriving at your destination for the weekend: Adirondack Loj. You'll then test your gear for the next day and make adjustments as necessary during the warm-up hike up Mount Jo. Your expert guides will demonstrate how to adjust and secure crampons and snowshoes, and throughout the hike you will receive instructions on crampon and ice axe use. Once at the top of Mount Jo, you'll be treated to beautiful views of the High Peaks.
After dinner at the Loj, the guides will go over route planning and decision-making on challenging hikes, and you will break up into teams to try your hand at making a plan for the next day. The evening ends with individual gear checks and an early night.
Day 2
The MacIntyre Range: 3 Summits in one day
Hiking
10-11 hours · 12 miles · 3854ft up · 3854ft down
It's a really early start with breakfast at 4:30 in the morning, and an Alpine start on the trail by 5:00 am. You'll need your headlamp as you start on the trail before sunrise. Experience the challenge of winter conditions in the mountains, navigating sheets of ice or deep snow to make your way to each of the three summits.
You'll start by attempting Wright Peak (4,587 ft), then making your way to Algonquin Peak (5,115ft), and finally to the trailless Iroquois Peak (4,843ft). At the end of a long day, you'll arrive back at the Loj to relax, enjoy a delicious 3-course dinner, and unwind with some post-dinner board games.
Day 3
Time to head home
After a well-deserved lie-in, grab a hearty breakfast and relax for the leisurely drive back to New York City, stopping for lunch along the way.
Included
Guides
Expert, certified guides with wilderness first responder training
Accommodation
2 nights at the Adirondack Loj
Meals
All meals except lunch on the drive to/from the New York
Transfers
All transfers to/from Central Manhatten
Permits
All entry fees and permits
Not Included
Travel insurance
Personal expenses
Some equipment
Some meals as described
Travel to and from the start point
Tips for your guides
Day 1
Lodge · Mixed dorm
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Lodge · Mixed dorm
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 3
Departure day
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
Hot breakfast at the lodge consists of oatmeal, toast, eggs, and fruit. Lunch is a choice of sandwich and snacks (candy, chips, trail mix). Dinner is a 3-course meal with salad/soup, a main entree, and a dessert. Vegetarian, vegan and most dietary requirements can be accommodated on this trip.
What is the accommodation like?
Adirondack Loj
You'll be staying at this historic lodge near Lake Placid in the Adirondack High Peaks region. Located on the shore of Heart Lake, the Loj was built in 1927 and is owned and operated by the Adirondack Mountain Club. You'll be staying in mixed 4-person rooms with bunk beds. Much welcome hot showers and tasty meals are served at the lodge.
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Central Manhattan
0645 on Day 1
Ends
Central Manhattan
Around 18:00 on Day 3 (depending on traffic)
Transfers
On Day 1 you'll meet your host at the corner of Broadway and W 73rd street, northwest corner in front of The North Face store. The drive to the mountains takes around 5-6 hours, with a relaxing stop for lunch. Alternatively - you are welcome to make your own way directly to the first night of accommodation if you wish.
On Day 3 you'll typically arrive back roughly between 1600-1800, however, it is entirely dependent on traffic coming into New York City, which is very unpredictable. We strongly recommend you don't make any plans for the evening or book flights departing until after 2200 - in case of delays.
Travel options
If you are flying in - there are direct flights to New York via JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports from across the US and Europe. From there you can easily make your way into central Manhatten.
Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear
In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.
What is available to hire (see Optional Extras for details)
- Mountaineering boots
- Crampons
- Ice axe
What do I need to bring?
Bags
- Waterproof rain cover for your backpack
- 30+L backpack
Clothes
- Moisture-wicking, non-cotton base layers (top and bottom).
- Fleece
- Insulating top layer (puffy)
- Insulating bottom layer (such as fleece pants)
- Fully waterproof top and bottom layers that can be worn over all other layers, except summit puffy
- Summit puffy that's rated at least 850+ down fill or synthetic equivalent. The puffy must be able to be worn over all other layers.
- Top and bottoms for sleeping
- Warm winter hat
- Neck buff
- Balaclava (you must be able to cover your entire face, so there is no exposed skin)
- Mountaineering goggles
- Liner gloves
- Insulated, waterproof mountaineering mitts
- At least 3 pairs of wool socks
- Liner socks (optional)
- Sun hat
Other
- Personal toiletries
- Sunglasses
- Bug spray
- Sunscreen
- Water bottles or bladder (must have 3L capacity in total)
- Head torch
- Trekking poles
- Light and comfortable lodge/car shoes
- Ear plugs
Winter Kit Hire: mountaineering boots, crampons and ice axe
Payable Before Departure
Winter Kit Hire: mountaineering boots, crampons and ice axe
… Per Person
We’re still waiting to collect any reviews from other travellers on this trip. However, all our hosts go through an extensive vetting process to ensure that your adventure is awesome.
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 110kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
This trip is for experienced hikers and fit individuals only, so you'll need to arrive prepared for a big challenge. You don't need technical experience, but you should have prior winter hiking experience. You will need to do cardio and endurance exercise 3-5 days a week and do hikes that involve steep ascents at least twice a month in the three months leading up to your trip.
Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Tips are not included in the trip cost. The amount to tip is entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip in the USA; your guides will rely on tips for a considerable portion of their income.
We suggest to budget for 10%-20% of the trip cost as a guideline.
Of course, you are free to tip more or less, and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.
Clean drinking water is available at the Loj.
Room is limited in the van, so participants should only bring their backpack and one small extra item, such as a duffel bag, for any extras.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our adventures. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure.
Your insurance policy should also include specific Covid-19 cover, including cancellation and curtailment cover if you, your travel companion or a close relative are diagnosed with Covid-19.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.
Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.
Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.
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