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As Jerry Levine crested the final few feet to the summit of Mt. Macomb, an impressive day of high peak climbing had been realized. Not only did Levine , at age 80, climb the entire five-mountain Dix Range, but the summit of Macomb, reached at 3:47pm, was the 46th and final peak of the day climbed by members of the Pok-O-MacCready family.
“Yeah, it was a long day, but I felt good,” said Levine (left), who is attempting to finish his personal 46 and be one of the oldest climbers ever to do so. He was joined on the hike by his son, former camper and counselor Peter, as well as former camp Headmaster Phil Corell.
For just the second time in nine attempts, Pok-O-MacCready achieved its goal of climbing all of the Adirondack Forty-Sixers in a single day. The success on the trail was matched by an equally triumphant fund raising effort; Over $5,000 was donated to the Adirondack Scholarship Foundation.
While the Levine party had the final summit of the afternoon, it was until close to eight in the evening before the group of climbers, gathered at camp for the post-hike party, received verification of their success. Nathan Swan and David Bell (below, right) made it to the summit of Redfield shortly after noon, but official  communication wasn’t relayed until they returned to camp. “We had a false call two years ago,” said event Director Tim Singer, referring to a communication error in 2008. “Originally, we believed we had done them all, but hadn’t received first person reports from every climber. A few days later, we learned that we fell one mountain short. We didn’t want to make that mistake again!”
Over 50 hikers took part in the attempt. “One reason for our success this year,” said event coordinator Scott McIntyre, “was that we had so many quality hikers commit early. Some years, we are really scrambling to fill holes at the last minute.” (See full roster of participants HERE)
The only previous time that the camp family succeeded in climbing all 46 in a day was 1992. At least 40 peaks have been scaled during every attempt, with 45 mountains being the total twice in the past decade (see list of past attempts HERE)
The 46-in-a-Day concluded a hugely successful year for Pok-O-MacCready alumni reunion and fund raising events. “Between the Patch Sprint and this,” said Singer, “we brought in over $14,000 for the scholarship. Our thanks to all of the generous participants, especially those who took out the time to attend both events.”
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