I'm working on my Catskills 3500 winter peaks, now that I've completed the regular requirements. I don't anticipate completing very fast, given that there are only three months of the year that count, and trips up there in the winter are both more expensive (can't camp) and harder to schedule (unpredictable weather). Day trips are really only feasible if you already own a car - or if you catch a ride with someone who does.
That's what I did for Saturday's hike up Kaaterskill High Peak, my ninth winter peak. My previous hike of Kaaterskill was in May, on a relatively nice day. Since KHP has some great views, we all hoped for nice weather. My second choice would have been for fluffy, fresh snow. Instead, what we got was a cold rain.
Because of the rain, we didn't follow the herd path up Hurricane Ledge. (Wet and possible icy rocks? Apparently, the wet is worse than the ice - our leader said that one of the rock climbs basically traps you in a shower.) Instead, we bushwhacked up the east face. The trickiest part is shown above, on our descent.
We had a good group of mostly cheerful hikers, which made the weather less of a tragedy. You'll notice a couple of blurry spots in the photo above. I just couldn't keep my camera lens entirely dry. Luckily, I had the right gear (except it turned out my warm mittens aren't waterproof) to stay dry enough and therefore warm.
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