A few weeks ago Ian and I started talking about the possibility to climb the Trap Dike before I leave for South America.

It would be good training for both of us, as well as the possibility of it being a fun time.

Our loosely planned climb of Mt. Colden in the Adirondacks High Peaks region came together this past Saturday. Ian, Rebecca and I had a late start at 10h00 and reached Lake Colden at 13h00. From there, we climbed the Trap Dike and the slab and reached the top of Mt. Colden around 17h00.

The ice was still surprisingly good on the slab, even with all the traffic and the sun. We made our descent in headlamps and reached the trail entrance by 20h00.

All in all, a great day and we all came out of it exhausted but with big smiles.

Click here to view the day's photos.

Thanks to Ian for some of his kick-ass photos. He has a lot of other nice photos of that day at EscaladeQuebec.com (in the right-hand column).