American Alpine Project
Ascending America's Highest Peaks to Raise Spirits Around the Globe
Mount Frissell, Connecticut
Mt. Frissell, CT
Elevation: 2,380 ft.
Summit Attained: 5:00 p.m., 02/11/07
Jason and I had quite a time getting to the top of this highpoint. First we tried to reach it from the small town of Salisbury, Connecticut. After weaving our way through a traffic jam caused by a local ski jump competition, we headed up a small mountain road, which eventually led to another smaller road, which led to yet another road, which led to...a locked gate.
As it turned out, Connecticut does not plow their section of the Mt. Washington Rd. (the road in question) during the winter, so Jason and I backtracked and headed north to Massachusetts. After a while, we found the Mt. Washington road on the Massachusetts side of the border, but this too turned out to be closed. This time a solid concrete blockade stopped us in our tracks at the Connecticut border.
Fresh out of options, we parked the car, donned our gear and started to walk. We knew that there was a good trail to Frissell's summit accessible via a jeep trail located a little more than a mile south of the CT border, so we headed off to find the trailhead. We passed several possible "jeep trails," but none of the them looked wide enough to allow a vehicle to pass, so we trudged on through the snow. After what seemed like forever, we encountered a couple out for a winter hike who informed us that we had overshot the jeep trailhead by about two miles!
Frustrated but still optimistic, we turned around and headed back down the Mt. Washington Rd. After about 30 minutes, and only with the aid of the couple's directions, we found the trailhead. Our mistake tacked on almost 4 miles, so we photographed the place to aid future Frissell conquerors (the picture of the gate in the photos for this page shows the entrance to the trailhead. It intersects the Mt. Washington road at about a 45 degree angle, and there is a clearing/pulloff just south of the gate that appears to be large enough to hold about three or four vehicles.)
We finally started down the trail at about 3:30. The jeep trail (I maintain that it is not quite wide enough for a jeep, unless your paintjob is not a priority) headed initially downhill through a forest that varied between standard east-coast deciduous growth and some really nice old-growth pine groves. The trail was rocky and VERY icy, and we had a few close calls. Eventually the path crossed two streams and headed up the side of one of the mountains. This part of the trail was pretty rocky and also very icy. After about a mile, we got to the saddle north of Bear Mountain. Here, we were stopped by an absolutely awesome view (see photos.) Far below were the rolling farms and forests of rural New York. Over 30 miles to the west, we could just make out the looming silouettes of several of the Catskill Mountains.
Since it was already past 4 P.M., we left the saddle in a hurry, following a sign that indicated a 90 degree righthand turn down a trail marked with red spraypaint. This rocky path gradually descended through a sparse wooded area for about a half mile, and then began to climb again. Shortly thereafter we came to the Tri-State Marker (NY, MA, CT, see photo,) an approximately 3 ft. high stone pillar that denotes the intersection of the three state borders. It was interesting to see that Connecticut had been scraped onto the side of the pillar, whereas Massachusetts and New York had been carefully engraved into the other two sides.
From the Tri-State Marker, the trail abruptly steepened, forcing us to climb on all fours up a rocky hillside for roughly fifty feet. A short distance later, we arrived at the infamous green stake (see photo.) This little spike marks the border of MA and CT, and is the official highest point in CT. It was pretty funny to see it barely poking through the snow cover next to a rock cairn that more appropriately signaled the importance of the site. It was almost dark, so we stayed at the marker for about 3 minutes before turning around to descend.
The steeper section of the summit trail took a few minutes to work out. Once we cleared it, we moved quickly past the Tri-State Marker up the trail to the saddle. From the saddle, we half walked, half slid down the icy mountainside back to the forest. We both ate it once or twice, but we made it down intact and continued back towards the jeep trailhead. By the time we reached the Mt. Washington road, it was completely dark, and we were out of water. Jason lit his headlamp and we trudged the last mile or so back to the car, sore and tired from a 12 mile hike. Luckily the car started, and we pulled a u-turn in front of the barricade and headed back to Providence at 6:20 P.M.
All in all, it was a fun day, but one thing is for sure: Whoever said Frissell was easy didn't climb it mapless in the winter.
Elevation: 2,380 ft.
Summit Attained: 5:00 p.m., 02/11/07
Jason and I had quite a time getting to the top of this highpoint. First we tried to reach it from the small town of Salisbury, Connecticut. After weaving our way through a traffic jam caused by a local ski jump competition, we headed up a small mountain road, which eventually led to another smaller road, which led to yet another road, which led to...a locked gate.
As it turned out, Connecticut does not plow their section of the Mt. Washington Rd. (the road in question) during the winter, so Jason and I backtracked and headed north to Massachusetts. After a while, we found the Mt. Washington road on the Massachusetts side of the border, but this too turned out to be closed. This time a solid concrete blockade stopped us in our tracks at the Connecticut border.
Fresh out of options, we parked the car, donned our gear and started to walk. We knew that there was a good trail to Frissell's summit accessible via a jeep trail located a little more than a mile south of the CT border, so we headed off to find the trailhead. We passed several possible "jeep trails," but none of the them looked wide enough to allow a vehicle to pass, so we trudged on through the snow. After what seemed like forever, we encountered a couple out for a winter hike who informed us that we had overshot the jeep trailhead by about two miles!
Frustrated but still optimistic, we turned around and headed back down the Mt. Washington Rd. After about 30 minutes, and only with the aid of the couple's directions, we found the trailhead. Our mistake tacked on almost 4 miles, so we photographed the place to aid future Frissell conquerors (the picture of the gate in the photos for this page shows the entrance to the trailhead. It intersects the Mt. Washington road at about a 45 degree angle, and there is a clearing/pulloff just south of the gate that appears to be large enough to hold about three or four vehicles.)
We finally started down the trail at about 3:30. The jeep trail (I maintain that it is not quite wide enough for a jeep, unless your paintjob is not a priority) headed initially downhill through a forest that varied between standard east-coast deciduous growth and some really nice old-growth pine groves. The trail was rocky and VERY icy, and we had a few close calls. Eventually the path crossed two streams and headed up the side of one of the mountains. This part of the trail was pretty rocky and also very icy. After about a mile, we got to the saddle north of Bear Mountain. Here, we were stopped by an absolutely awesome view (see photos.) Far below were the rolling farms and forests of rural New York. Over 30 miles to the west, we could just make out the looming silouettes of several of the Catskill Mountains.
Since it was already past 4 P.M., we left the saddle in a hurry, following a sign that indicated a 90 degree righthand turn down a trail marked with red spraypaint. This rocky path gradually descended through a sparse wooded area for about a half mile, and then began to climb again. Shortly thereafter we came to the Tri-State Marker (NY, MA, CT, see photo,) an approximately 3 ft. high stone pillar that denotes the intersection of the three state borders. It was interesting to see that Connecticut had been scraped onto the side of the pillar, whereas Massachusetts and New York had been carefully engraved into the other two sides.
From the Tri-State Marker, the trail abruptly steepened, forcing us to climb on all fours up a rocky hillside for roughly fifty feet. A short distance later, we arrived at the infamous green stake (see photo.) This little spike marks the border of MA and CT, and is the official highest point in CT. It was pretty funny to see it barely poking through the snow cover next to a rock cairn that more appropriately signaled the importance of the site. It was almost dark, so we stayed at the marker for about 3 minutes before turning around to descend.
The steeper section of the summit trail took a few minutes to work out. Once we cleared it, we moved quickly past the Tri-State Marker up the trail to the saddle. From the saddle, we half walked, half slid down the icy mountainside back to the forest. We both ate it once or twice, but we made it down intact and continued back towards the jeep trailhead. By the time we reached the Mt. Washington road, it was completely dark, and we were out of water. Jason lit his headlamp and we trudged the last mile or so back to the car, sore and tired from a 12 mile hike. Luckily the car started, and we pulled a u-turn in front of the barricade and headed back to Providence at 6:20 P.M.
All in all, it was a fun day, but one thing is for sure: Whoever said Frissell was easy didn't climb it mapless in the winter.
