The Adirondack High Peaks Region and Andrew's 46er Page -

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Climbing Log Search

Return climbing logs between	and
with at least one of the following participants
for at least one of the following peaks

10 Climbing log entries Found.

Nov. 20, 2022 (Sun.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Brian Connell, Caroline Doucet

A return to the tradition of 'twilight hikes', this time on Ampersand Mountain

A sunset/twilight hike to the summit of Ampersand Mountain. The day is below freezing and windy, but bright and sunny. The big November 2022 lake-effect snow dump almost reaches Ampersand, but not quite. Just six inches of snow on the ground, maybe a foot near the summit.

We start off two and a half hours before sunset, which turns out to be a little too generous, and as we approach the summit, we have to slow down to burn off some time. We futz around enough to manage to arrive at the summit just minutes before sundown, and are treated to a clear view of it. There are no especially spectacular colors or cloud effects today, but it is still very beautiful and special to witness, as always.

The blustery conditions keep us from lingering at the summit too long. Trail conditions, even though the trail is covered in only a thin layer of snow, are quite good. We make it back to the car shortly after six and are glad to have spent this Sunday afternoon in on this north country summit.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: November 2022 Ampersand Mountain Sunset Hike

Mar. 1, 2019 (Fri.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Chris Waddington, Sai Mohan, James McConnell, Ming Lu

Another climb up Ampersand in optimal winter trail conditions - this time on work team-building outing. Again, freshly packed out trail, nice and grippy with minimal ice. Four ADK newcomers on this hike, and I think they were pleasantly surprised by how nice (and maybe also a bit suprised by the steepness of the main ascent). Weather was perfect, classic, clear, bright and calm winter day, and not that cold. A great intro.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: March 2019 Ampersand Mountain

Mar. 11, 2018 (Sun.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Jennifer Innes, Brian Connell, Sophie Huggins

A climb up Ampersand in optimal winter trail conditions - freshly packed out trail, basically grippy snow all the way virtually to the summit marker. [Climbing] snowshoes only, nothing else required. Weather was a bit more 'meh' - cloudy and with maybe only 5-6 miles of visibility. But calm and mild.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: March 2018 Ampersand Mountain

Oct. 20, 2017 (Fri.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne

Last minute rush to the top of Ampersand Mountain on a mild October evening to take in the Orionid Meteor shower. The only problem was, I saw very very few meteors. However, the mild and slightly breezy open summit of Ampersand was a great place to do an open Bivi. Very comfortable.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: NOrionids on Ampersand

Jan. 17, 2016 (Sun.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Jennifer Innes, Brian Connell

Surprisingly little snowpack for a mid-January hike up Ampersand Mtn. Weather calm and cool and gray, with the sun faintly shining through a thin cloud deck. Easy hiking (bareboot on perhaps 2 inches of snowpack) along the flats and then up the slopes of Ampersand, with the snow depth increasing only slightly as we climbed. Conditions on summit remarkably calm and docile, with a few flakes lazily drifting down out of the sky. Visibility decent despite the overcast and flurries. Total round-trip time a decent three hours and thirty minutes.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: January 2016 Ampersand Mountain

Jun. 22, 2014 (Sun.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Jennifer Innes, Pu Chen, Denis Fournier, Roch Bellefueille, Dan Malcolm, Rene Lavigne, Nancy, Sophie Huggins

Tagging along with friend Pu on a beautiful day on an easy Adirondack intro peak.

Warm but not hot and not humid day, and no bugs of any consequence. Trail was in good shape and not muddy, other than perhaps a few hundred feet of the steepest part of the ascent, where the trail is most heavily eroded and the least maintained.

Summit conditions were perfect: mild temperature and a light breeze; mostly sunny with the occasional puffy cloud casting a bit of cool shade. We were nine in total, but even so, it only took us just over four hours in total, round trip. After the hike we took a brief extra journey down to the shore of Middle Saranac Lake. Several families had set up for a day at the 'Beach'.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: June 2014 Ampersand Mountain Hike

Jul. 27, 2008 (Sun.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Jennifer Innes, Miriam Romer, Asmir Arifovic

An intro mountain hike for Miriam. We climbed on a sunny but hazy and humid day. Lots of recent rains meant wet and muddy trail conditions. Recent trailwork on the steeper sections of the trail are very nice! Summit was great, as usual. Discovered eastern lookout on summit for the first time. Miriam did very well; we completed the entire hike in just over four hours, including a very long lunch/rest break on the summit.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: July 2008 Ampersand Mtn Hike

Jun. 19, 2005 (Sun.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Jennifer Innes, Yi Wang, Peter Krug, Markus Wandel, Pu Chen, Ewart Tempest

This was a hike we did with Pu and a bunch of his friends. He was introducing many of them to mountain hiking, and chose Ampersand mountain as in intro (an excellent choice, BTW). We had a nice, cool, partly-to-mostly sunny day. Perfect!.

The weather was mostly cloudy (with a few bright breaks) on the way up. On the plus side, it was not too humid and it was a pleasantly cool temperature; good for hiking. The trail leads gently through beautiful, mostly deciduous woodland. Of the 4 and-a-half kilometre total distance, it is only the last 1 to 1.5 km that are really steep. The pace was surprisingly fast considering the size of the group. Most very large groups end up being very, very slow.

By the time we broke out onto the wonderful open top of Ampersand, most of the clouds had melted away (as was forecast) and it was a glorious exceptionally clear day. The lake country to the north and the high peaks to the east were both clearly and crisply visible, although a few of the higher peaks were still shrouded in the remaining bits of cloud. The group had split up into a few large chunks, which over the course of 30 or so minutes reached the top. Seeing us all standing on Ampersand's summit highlighted how many of us there were!
After a speedy descent (Jennifer was practically running down the mountain, so we arrived back at the trailhead about 30 minutes ahead of everyone else), we decided to wander over to nearby Middle Saranac Lake for a swim. Chilly! but very clear and nice, and once actually in the water it wasn't so bad. The lake bottom is very sandy and shallow out a long ways, so I was able to easily go way out into the lake, turn around, and get a good shot of Ampersand's summit from below. Eventually Pu, Markus and others joined us in the water.
On the way back, we stopped for a quick and tasty treat at a local burger/ice cream stand in Tupper Lake. Thanks, Pu, for organizing this great outing, and I hope to see many of you on the trail again soon!

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: June 2005 Ampersand Mountain Hike

Nov. 27, 2004 (Sat.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Jennifer Innes, Yi Wang, Peter Krug

This was the third in our 'Kili Prep Hike' series, and we were again constrained by bad weather to doing a short 1/2 day Adirondack hike. We were going to climb Mount Adams (and its fire tower), and Markus had also wanted to explore the ghost town at Adirondac. However, there were only five of us today, and Markus was displeased with the idea of using two cars for five people (Jenn was sick and wanted some space in the back seat to sleep), so he left and went home.

I figured since Markus had wanted to explore the ghost town that we should do something else today instead, and so I chose Ampersand mountain: it is scenic, short, and a relatively short drive from Ottawa. The hike in and up was nothing notable; the trail had a fair bit of thin snow and ice higher up, but not quite enough to warrant crampons. The summit of Ampersand was howling with wind, and we could see all sorts of strange and dark clouds moving in. Other higher peaks were clearly experiencing little mini blizzards. The views were grand in all directions. Walking required some extra care due to the strong winds.

We all summitted and enjoyed the stark beauty of the day. We didn't stay up here long, though, because we were hungry for some lunch and it was way too windy to sit down for a bit out in the open. So we clambered back down into the trees for our snack. We carefully picked our way back down over the slippery steep parts of the trail and then, in no time at all, back to the car.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: November 2004 Ampersand Mountain Hike

Nov. 4, 2001 (Sun.)

Ampersand Mountain

Elevation: 3314 feet; Order of Height: 116

Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Bob Gibson, Markus Wandel, Annette Labossiere, Gilbert Benoit, Lorraine Hughes

A suprisingly warm mid-November day. Parked on the higwhay (route 3) near Middle Sarance Lake (there is a trail sign and a little parking area just opposite it). Trail was well-marked and in good shape. Gets a bit steep towards the peak and then, near the summit, winds around some neat cliffs and boulders. We then climbed up onto a very nice and open summit, with remnants of some structure (pylons, etc), some graffiti, and also a plaque dedicated to the former hermit of the mountain. Very good views of the Lake Country to the west and north. High peaks were somewhat obscured by cloudy conditions.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
Image Gallery: November 2001 Ampersand Mtn Hike

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