American Alpine Project
Ascending America's Highest Peaks to Raise Spirits Around the Globe
Mount Greylock, Massachusetts
Mt. Greylock, MA
Elevation: 3,487 ft.
Summit Attained: 2:25 p.m., 01/28/07
Jason and I left Providence planning to climb Mt. Greylock and Mt. Frissell (CT highpoint) in one day. We estimated that Greylock would be a hike of a mile or two roundtrip, which would take about an hour or two max to do in the snow. Boy, were we off on our estimates. The hike was somewhere in the neighborhood of 8.5 miles roundtrip, switchbacking and climbing up a very rocky trail that was completely covered over in snow and ice. Luckily I had crampons, but Jason only had his trusty Asolo mountaineering boots, and his rear end paid the price by the end of the day.
We arrived at the Greylock visitor center around noon. We were about to start off in the direction of the trailhead, but Jason had to to hit the bathroom first, so we checked out the inside of the center. After a park guide standing next to a giant 3-D model of the Greylock area informed me that the trailhead outside was more than 8 miles from Greylock's summit (16.5 roundtrip,) Jason and I drove to another, more isolated trailhead called the Adams trail. Anyone wishing to do this hike in the winter should use the following route:
- Take the Mass. Turnpike to exit 2. Merge onto 7 North. Follow for some distance (12 miles+.)
- Turn right off Route 7 a mile or two south of N. Main Street (the road that leads to the summit drive and visitor's center) onto Summer Rd.
- Take Summer Rd. to the T intersection and make a left towards Rt. 8.
- Turn left at Rt. 8 and follow it for several miles.
- After you pass the State Police Barracks and Fred Mason Rd., hang a left on the small rd. that intersects 8 at 90 degrees. Follow this road to the T and go right.
- Proceed for about a mile and then go left at West Mtn. Road (following the sign for the Mt. Greylock Greenhouses.) Take this road to its end and park somewhere.
- The trailhead is up the hill to the right. If you stand near the end of the road facing the trailhead, the summit of Mt. Greylock is visible in the distance just behind your right shoulder.
- Bring crampons, a few extra layers, balaclava and gloves!
About two-thirds of the way up Mt. Greylock, the tree cover abruptly changed from deciduous to almost exclusively coniferous (the top of Greylock represents the only sub-alpine terrain in Massachusetts.) Ice storms had coated every tree branch in a sheath of shiny white, giving everything a fairytale vibe that we tried to capture in one of the pictures.
It was snowing pretty hard during the last half of our ascent, and we found the summit in near-whiteout conditions. The view is supposed to be absolutely spectacular. Over the centuries, its vistas have drawn visitors like Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and H.D. Thoreau. Unfortunately we couldn't see more than 100 yards in the storm, but there was one sunny spot illuminating a little town thousands of feet below us in a neighboring valley.
We signed our names in the snow that coated Greylock's summit tower, a towering structure that looks exactly like a gigantic chess piece. It was close to 0 with the wind chill, and I was not dressed for the occasion. The weather was looking pretty scary and, after we froze our hands trying to snap photos and eat, we decided to make a rapid descent to avoid a potential hypothermic situation. We made it back to the car by about 4:45, giving a total trip time of about 4.5 hrs.
Sore and tired, we drove around looking for burgers, and eventually ended up at a nice place called the Dakota Steakhouse. After we sat down, we found out that there weren't any burgers to be had, but two steaks ended up doing the trick pretty well, capping off a decently strenuous climb up a good east-coast highpoint.
Elevation: 3,487 ft.
Summit Attained: 2:25 p.m., 01/28/07
Jason and I left Providence planning to climb Mt. Greylock and Mt. Frissell (CT highpoint) in one day. We estimated that Greylock would be a hike of a mile or two roundtrip, which would take about an hour or two max to do in the snow. Boy, were we off on our estimates. The hike was somewhere in the neighborhood of 8.5 miles roundtrip, switchbacking and climbing up a very rocky trail that was completely covered over in snow and ice. Luckily I had crampons, but Jason only had his trusty Asolo mountaineering boots, and his rear end paid the price by the end of the day.
We arrived at the Greylock visitor center around noon. We were about to start off in the direction of the trailhead, but Jason had to to hit the bathroom first, so we checked out the inside of the center. After a park guide standing next to a giant 3-D model of the Greylock area informed me that the trailhead outside was more than 8 miles from Greylock's summit (16.5 roundtrip,) Jason and I drove to another, more isolated trailhead called the Adams trail. Anyone wishing to do this hike in the winter should use the following route:
- Take the Mass. Turnpike to exit 2. Merge onto 7 North. Follow for some distance (12 miles+.)
- Turn right off Route 7 a mile or two south of N. Main Street (the road that leads to the summit drive and visitor's center) onto Summer Rd.
- Take Summer Rd. to the T intersection and make a left towards Rt. 8.
- Turn left at Rt. 8 and follow it for several miles.
- After you pass the State Police Barracks and Fred Mason Rd., hang a left on the small rd. that intersects 8 at 90 degrees. Follow this road to the T and go right.
- Proceed for about a mile and then go left at West Mtn. Road (following the sign for the Mt. Greylock Greenhouses.) Take this road to its end and park somewhere.
- The trailhead is up the hill to the right. If you stand near the end of the road facing the trailhead, the summit of Mt. Greylock is visible in the distance just behind your right shoulder.
- Bring crampons, a few extra layers, balaclava and gloves!
About two-thirds of the way up Mt. Greylock, the tree cover abruptly changed from deciduous to almost exclusively coniferous (the top of Greylock represents the only sub-alpine terrain in Massachusetts.) Ice storms had coated every tree branch in a sheath of shiny white, giving everything a fairytale vibe that we tried to capture in one of the pictures.
It was snowing pretty hard during the last half of our ascent, and we found the summit in near-whiteout conditions. The view is supposed to be absolutely spectacular. Over the centuries, its vistas have drawn visitors like Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and H.D. Thoreau. Unfortunately we couldn't see more than 100 yards in the storm, but there was one sunny spot illuminating a little town thousands of feet below us in a neighboring valley.
We signed our names in the snow that coated Greylock's summit tower, a towering structure that looks exactly like a gigantic chess piece. It was close to 0 with the wind chill, and I was not dressed for the occasion. The weather was looking pretty scary and, after we froze our hands trying to snap photos and eat, we decided to make a rapid descent to avoid a potential hypothermic situation. We made it back to the car by about 4:45, giving a total trip time of about 4.5 hrs.
Sore and tired, we drove around looking for burgers, and eventually ended up at a nice place called the Dakota Steakhouse. After we sat down, we found out that there weren't any burgers to be had, but two steaks ended up doing the trick pretty well, capping off a decently strenuous climb up a good east-coast highpoint.
