Final climb! Here, our group makes its way up the final bit of slope to the true summit. [enlarge]

Final climb! Here, our group makes its way up the final bit of slope to the true summit. [enlarge]

Shannon and Balanced Boulder The famous balanced boulder near the summit of Mount Colden. [enlarge]

courtesy _markus

Summit Photo [enlarge]

Mt Colden Sub-summit The north/northeast flank of Colden has a rocky sub-summit, visible in this picture. [enlarge]

Looking back from sub-summit This is a shot taken from the sub-summit, looking back at the summit of Mt Colden [enlarge]

Avalanche Junction Lean-to Tired, and for some, a bit cold, we have a quick food break at the Avalanche Junction Lean-to. As you can see, it gets dark early in January. [enlarge]

Avalanche Junction lean-to Getting ready for the final 1.5 hour hike back to the cars. [enlarge]

Nearing the trailhead! Bryan lusts for the trails end, which he knows is just ahead! [enlarge]

Thankful! Bryan, thankful for surviving the day's ordeal, and glad as hell to be finished, kisses some frozen H20 in thanks. [enlarge]

courtesy _markus

Sign out Signing out at 6:50pm.... important to do, so that officials don't think we are lost up in the mountains! [enlarge]

courtesy _markus

Well-deserved meal. The Pizza Hut in Saranac Lake satifies our cravings for a quick and filling hot meal. [enlarge]

Interactive trackmap with photo points - Mt Colden Winter Loop - click map to view Interactive trackmap with photo points - Mt Colden Winter Loop - click to view

Annotated Topographic Map of route This is a topographic map of the area in which our hike took place. Overlaid on top of the map is a GPS-derived tracklog of our exact route. Each dark blue tick along the track represents 30 minutes of elapsed time. Hike Specifics: Start 08:50; End 18:50; Total Distance: 21.5-22.0km; Start Elevation: appr 2200 feet. Max Elevation: 4715 feet. [enlarge]

Elevation Profile Over Distance This is a GPS-derived elevation profile of the day's hike, plotted over distance. Distance was just under 22 kilometres. [enlarge]

Elevation profile over time This is a GPS-derived elevation plot of the day's hike, plotted over time. Took us just under 10 hours. [enlarge]