The cheers reverberated throughout Robinson Hall at Pok-O-MacCready. It was past 9:00 in the evening, and the final group participating in the annual 46-in-a-Day called with the news: They had successfully climbed the Santanoni Range. With all groups reporting, Pok-O-MacCready had- for just the second time- succeeded in climbing all 46 high

Past Attempts Year Peaks 1990 42 1991 41 1992 46 2002 45 2006 41 2007 40 2008 45

peaks in one day.

   But wait! 72 hours later word came in that one mountain was missed. A group that was camped out for several days, and scheduled to climb Dial and Nippletop, had to abandon the effort due to an injured hiker. Preliminary reports that they had climbed both mountains proved to be erroneous.

   “Obviously, we’re disappointed that we fell just short of the mark,” stated event organizer Tim Singer, “but everyone gave it an incredible effort this year. 45 out of 46 in one day, from one organization, is pretty damn impressive!” Added Scott McIntyre, the event’s operations manager, “It’s ironic. We teach our trip leaders to turn back in the event of injury, and this was a case where making the right decision unfortunately prevented us from climbing them all.”

CLIMBING NEAR MISS; FUND-RAISING SUCCESS

   The 46-in-a-Day serves as one of two annual event fund raisers for the Adirondack Scholarship Foundation, and the 2008 edition did not dissapoint. The 58 climbers, volunteers and donors helped to raise over five thousand dollars. “I can’t tell you how much this means,” raved foundation manager Jack Swan. Between the Patch Sprint and this, we took in over $11,000. We would be nowhere without this generous assistance.” Added Sharp Swan, director of Pok-O-MacCready Camps: “This means so much to us, and especially those campers who otherwise would not have a chance to come to the ‘greatest camp in the universe’”.

TALES FROM THE TRAIL

   All in all, it was an enjoyable day of hiking amidst beautiful conditions. A record 20 groups headed into the woods, with David Durant and Jacob Gittler kicking things off, arriving at the summit of Big Slide in time for the sunrise.

EXTREME HIKERS Youngest Joe Zimmerman (8) Oldest Jerry Levine (78)

THE MAINSTAYS: As usual, Jim Kobak was on his game, soloing Cliff, Redfield and Marshall and returning to his car by two in the afternoon. Kobak’s explots in this event have become legendary; He’s also the only person to have taken part in all seven attempts. Singer, and Kelly Zimmerman have climbed in six of the seven.

TWO WRONGS CAN MAKE A RIGHT: In their effort to climb Phelps and Tabletop, Angela and Nathan Swan made a wrong turn coming off Phelps and ended back at Marcy Dam. Fortunately for the mother-son duo, Josh Bornt also made a wrong turn, coming off of Algonquin and arrived unscheduled at Marcy Dam at roughly the same time. Bornt led 14-year old Nathan to the summit of Tabletop.

TRIPLE COVERAGE: In each of the past two attempts (2006 and 2007), Pok-O-MacCready hikers failed to reach the four summits of the “Lower Range”. This year, those peaks were climbed... three times! Dorothy Bedford Taggart and Alisa Beck Harrison- slated to climb together, were unable to hook up and instead, covered the range separately, although they did meet on top of Upper Wolf Jaw. Meantime, Gittler, 16, and Durant, not content to have just climbed Big Slide and the “Upper Range”, also picked off three of the four in the Lower Range for a total of seven mountains.

THE RESCUE: George Disney set out early for Porter and Cascade, finishing off his hike by midmorning. However, just as he was returning to his car, he learned that a climber had collapsed near the summit of Cascade. Disney, a medical doctor, assisted with what turned out to be a successful rescue.

   Event organizers would also like to cite the contributions of several people, including: Pok-O-MacCready Family Camp and the Dionne Family who, for the third year in a row, volunteered for the attempt. Also, Scotty, Sharp and Sarah Disney for coordinating “base camp”; PMOEC for climbing Wright; Mike Gast, for cooking a great meal for the returning climbers; Peter and Mase for your generous donations.

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   Can they all be climbed? It’s been done before, yet past year’s have proven that it’s not as easy as it seems. At the climbers meeting, held the night prior to the attempt, it was announced that “our goal is- first and foremost- to have fun. Secondly, to raise a bit of money and, if we can, climb them all.”

   Given that philosophy, the 2008 46-in-a-Day was another success and as Jake Gittler mentioned upon hearing the news of the missed mountain, “it makes me even more determined for next year!”