Very early pickup Markus couldn't sleep, so he arrived at my place extra early, at 3:30am. [enlarge]

Arrival in the dark.... In fact, this was the first time that I've ever arrived at the trailhead at ADK loj so early: 6:15am. We had a good start on the day, that was for sure. [enlarge]

Signing-in Signing-in at the trail register, bound for tabletop mountain. [enlarge]

Tabletop Sunrise As we arrived at Marcy Dam, we find a beautiful rents-in-the-clouds view, complete with golden shafts of sunlight from the rising sun. The mountain in the center of the picture is our objective: tabletop mountain. [enlarge]

The view at Marcy Dam My 3rd Marcy dam shot of 2003. Mount Colden is left-of-center. [enlarge]

Andrew takes pictures A shot of me taking pictures of the slides on Wright peak. [enlarge]

courtesy _markus

Markus crosses marcy dam We reach Marcy dam early, and are making excellent time towards our goal. [enlarge]

A slide on Mt. Colden This is a zoomed-in shot of one of the slides on the southeast flank of Wright peak. Note the many ski/snowboard tracks of backcountry downhill skiers/snowboarders. [enlarge]

Hiking towards Indian Falls Here Markus hikes up the section of trail between Marcy Dam and Indian Falls. [enlarge]

Hiking towards Indian Falls Andrew hikes up the section of trail between Marcy Dam and Indian Falls. [enlarge]

courtesy _markus

Indian Falls We stop at Indian Falls for a lunch... er, I mean breakfast break. It is only 8:35am and we are already at this point. We are motoring! The weather is beautiful... sunny, a few clouds, little to no wind, and not that cold (maybe -7C or so). A far cry from the -35C of 2 weeks before! (click here for the Whiteface mountain expedition from 2 weeks before). [enlarge]

Nearing the summit of Tabletop We locate the well-trodden herd path leading to the top with no difficulties this time. Here, Markus nears the top of the steep section leading to the flat tableland that is the summit of Tabletop. Excellent views abound, although there are a few too many clouds obscuring the surrounding peaks for my liking. [enlarge]

Nearing summit of Tabletop The summit plateau of tabletop is full of super-dense vegetation. The trail snakes its way around and through it - this picture shows how dense it is in spots. [enlarge]

Markus, Tabletop Summit Here we are, at the summit of Tabletop. This is my 32nd forty-sixer peak. This is Markus' 23rd. (I think). [enlarge]

Andrew, Tabletop Summit Here we are, at the summit of Tabletop. This is my 32nd forty-sixer peak. This is Markus' 23rd. (I think). [enlarge]

Ice-encrusted trees at summit At some point in the not-too-distant past, this summit received a goodly amount of freezing rain, and it coats much of the vegetation on the summit. [enlarge]

Basin mountain Across from us we can see the entire great range wreathed in clouds. The summit and sub-summit of Basin mountain, seen in this picture, are visible from this angle, poking out from under the clouds. [enlarge]

Stepping off-trail Markus decides to step off-trail for a better vantage point... and whoosh... immediately he sinks in 4 feet! There is a lot of snow up here... the extra 5 to 7 feet of snow (my estimate) makes all the difference with the views, and lifts us above the low scrub of the summit. In the summer I don't think we would see very much. Definitely a peak to climb in the winter. [enlarge]

Overhead Airliner A large-bodied twin passenger airliner passes overhead. I will endeavour to figure out what plane this is and how high it was. [enlarge]

Andrew scans the horizon This is me (without my sunglasses, since I lost them on Whiteface 2 weeks before). I have not put on my goggles yet. [enlarge]

courtesy _markus

Basin Mountain Another shot of Basin mountain - taken from Markus' camera. [enlarge]

courtesy _markus

A beautiful summit day Here's me wandering amongst the low trees on the summit. The clouds continue to break up, and it gets warmer. Still no wind. A completely beautiful sunny winter day in the Adirondacks. [enlarge]

courtesy _markus

Mount Colden This is mount Colden as viewed from the summit of Tabletop. We climbed this peak four weeks before this climb (click here to read the trip report for that climb). [enlarge]

courtesy _markus

Markus surveys view from summit Markus is master of all that he surveys.... [enlarge]

Marcy wreathed in clouds The clouds had been totally covering Mt Marcy... up to this point, where they started to clear away, presenting us with a closeup view of the highest point in New York state! [enlarge]