A winter hike of Black Dome and Thomas Cole

A friend who is working on completing her Catskills 3500 knew I am working on my winter peaks, and so she invited me on one last trip before the official winter season was over. After comparing our lists, we decided to hike two of the three peaks in the Black Dome Range from Big Hollow Road on Saturday.



The snow that was left on these peaks wasn't deep, but the trail itself had been packed down to a layer of ice, making spikes a must-have. We traveled at a moderate pace, though, and enjoyed the leafless winter views of Blackhead and Windham. The top of Black Dome is viewless, and not especially peaky; at some point you conclude you must have passed the real top because you're now going downhill!

The col between Black Dome and Thomas Cole is relatively modest, and TC has another flattish peak.

Unless you have a car shuttle at Elmer Barnum Road, the only way out is back over Black Dome, so we did it again and the headed downhill.



While it's less verdant, I would say this is one of the Catskills hikes that is improved by winter, what with the views that open up on the initial ascent.