Post by Peter Bakwin on Oct 19, 2009 15:02:58 GMT -5
Ryan Atkins has the FKT, 5h24m40s, October 25, 2017.
Previous men's FKTs:
Lee Berube, 5h27m30s, September 2, 2017.
Tom Goth, 5h44m21s, August 8, 2015.
Ryan Atkins, 5h49m38s, June 4, 2015.
Eric Batty & Ryan Atkins, 5h56m45s, set September 1, 2012.
Ben Nephew, 6h09m26s, set September 25, 2010.
Jan Wellford, 6h40m44s, set September 21, 2009.
Sarah Keyes has the women's FKT, 6h37m29s, July 9, 2015.
Previous women's FKT:
Kristina Folcik, 7h14m (accompanied), July 12, 2014.
The Great Range is an 11-mile contiguous chain of mountains in the heart of the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. It's not clear if there is a "standard" way to do the traverse, and the www.summitpost.org page on it says "Ask ten people what constitutes a Great Range traverse, and you'll likely get ten different answers." But, it seems like doing the traverse requires summitting everything between Hedgehog Mountain and Mount Marcy, possibly incluidng Rooster Comb and Mount Haystack. As done by Wellford (see map) the route is about 25 miles with 9500 feet of elevation gain and 9000 feet of loss, starting at the Rooster Comb TH and ending at the Garden TH, both in Keene Valley. Backpacker Magazine called this the third hardest dayhike in America, and described it thus:
There's no small irony in the fact that New York's tallest peak is merely the last challenge on this classic loop-and far from the toughest. The route scales nine peaks, including six 4,000-footers and the aforementioned 5,344-foot Mt. Marcy. But numerous cols and false summits, plus heinously eroded trail beds, wear you down physically and psychologically. From Keene Valley, the murderer's row of peaks includes Rooster Comb, Hedgehog, Lower Wolf Jaw, Upper Wolf Jaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Haystack, and Marcy, from which you descend the Phelps Trail. Gut-check moments include a half-mile of teetering above a 700-foot drop on a knife-edge between the Wolf Jaws - inevitably followed by a steep climb - and the southeast face of Gothics, a scary-steep, exposed descent over open slab rock. There are long stretches of scrambling and ladder-climbing, and you'll need to carry enough water for the day.
On September 25, 2010, Ben Nephew did the Great Range, beating Jan Wellford's FKT set one year earlier. Nephew's time was 6h09m26s. His GPS track for the route is here, though Nephew reported having some trouble with the GPS. Eric Batty and Ryan Atkins beat the previous FKT on September 1, 2012, with a time of 5h56m45s, as reported below (with splits). Tom Goth reported (below, with GPS track, splits and a report) a new FKT of 5h44m21s on August 8, 2015. This time was beaten on September 2, 2017, by Lee Berube, 5h27m30s, with GPS track linked below.
Wellford provided his splits as follows:
Wellford also provided some "tips" for doing the Traverse:
--The "ridge" itself is steep, rugged, and not very runnable in most places, although the 9.1 miles from Marcy to the Garden is, as is much of the 2.5 miles up Rooster Comb. Overall the hike is so rugged that I chose to use trekking poles and Montrail Hardrocks when I set my best time.
--The only water source on the ridge is near the col in between Basin and Haystack. There are two small streams crossing the trail -- the higher stream on the way up Haystack is the most reliable. Two liters gets me to this point, and two liters takes me home from here (although you'll find plenty of water on the Phelps trail if you want to stop and refill again).
On July 12, 2014, Kristina Folcik set the first women's FKT on the Great Range Traverse, as reported below. Folcik ran with her husband, Ryan Welts. Their gps track is here. A year later Sarah Keyes took the ladies FKT down to 6h37m29s, as reported below (user "runadksk") with link to GPS track.
Great Range Traverse, map by Jan Wellford
Previous men's FKTs:
Lee Berube, 5h27m30s, September 2, 2017.
Tom Goth, 5h44m21s, August 8, 2015.
Ryan Atkins, 5h49m38s, June 4, 2015.
Eric Batty & Ryan Atkins, 5h56m45s, set September 1, 2012.
Ben Nephew, 6h09m26s, set September 25, 2010.
Jan Wellford, 6h40m44s, set September 21, 2009.
Sarah Keyes has the women's FKT, 6h37m29s, July 9, 2015.
Previous women's FKT:
Kristina Folcik, 7h14m (accompanied), July 12, 2014.
The Great Range is an 11-mile contiguous chain of mountains in the heart of the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. It's not clear if there is a "standard" way to do the traverse, and the www.summitpost.org page on it says "Ask ten people what constitutes a Great Range traverse, and you'll likely get ten different answers." But, it seems like doing the traverse requires summitting everything between Hedgehog Mountain and Mount Marcy, possibly incluidng Rooster Comb and Mount Haystack. As done by Wellford (see map) the route is about 25 miles with 9500 feet of elevation gain and 9000 feet of loss, starting at the Rooster Comb TH and ending at the Garden TH, both in Keene Valley. Backpacker Magazine called this the third hardest dayhike in America, and described it thus:
There's no small irony in the fact that New York's tallest peak is merely the last challenge on this classic loop-and far from the toughest. The route scales nine peaks, including six 4,000-footers and the aforementioned 5,344-foot Mt. Marcy. But numerous cols and false summits, plus heinously eroded trail beds, wear you down physically and psychologically. From Keene Valley, the murderer's row of peaks includes Rooster Comb, Hedgehog, Lower Wolf Jaw, Upper Wolf Jaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Haystack, and Marcy, from which you descend the Phelps Trail. Gut-check moments include a half-mile of teetering above a 700-foot drop on a knife-edge between the Wolf Jaws - inevitably followed by a steep climb - and the southeast face of Gothics, a scary-steep, exposed descent over open slab rock. There are long stretches of scrambling and ladder-climbing, and you'll need to carry enough water for the day.
On September 25, 2010, Ben Nephew did the Great Range, beating Jan Wellford's FKT set one year earlier. Nephew's time was 6h09m26s. His GPS track for the route is here, though Nephew reported having some trouble with the GPS. Eric Batty and Ryan Atkins beat the previous FKT on September 1, 2012, with a time of 5h56m45s, as reported below (with splits). Tom Goth reported (below, with GPS track, splits and a report) a new FKT of 5h44m21s on August 8, 2015. This time was beaten on September 2, 2017, by Lee Berube, 5h27m30s, with GPS track linked below.
Wellford provided his splits as follows:
[*]Rooster Comb: 38:32 (38:32)
[*]Lower Wolfjaw: 1:02:40 (1:41:12)
[*]Upper Wolfjaw: 26:33 (2:07:45)
[*]Armstrong: 16:37 (2:24:22)
[*]Gothics: 15:41 (2:40:03)
[*]Saddleback: 23:08 (3:03:11)
[*]Basin: 23:57 (3:27:08)
[*]Haystack: 41:24 (4:08:32)
[*]Marcy: 47:38 (4:56:10)
[*]Slant Rock: 31:50 (5:28:00)
[*]Bushnell falls lean-to: 18:54 (5:46:54)
[*]John's Brook Lodge: 18:35 (6:05:29)
[*]Garden TH: 35:15 (6:40:44)
Wellford also provided some "tips" for doing the Traverse:
--The "ridge" itself is steep, rugged, and not very runnable in most places, although the 9.1 miles from Marcy to the Garden is, as is much of the 2.5 miles up Rooster Comb. Overall the hike is so rugged that I chose to use trekking poles and Montrail Hardrocks when I set my best time.
--The only water source on the ridge is near the col in between Basin and Haystack. There are two small streams crossing the trail -- the higher stream on the way up Haystack is the most reliable. Two liters gets me to this point, and two liters takes me home from here (although you'll find plenty of water on the Phelps trail if you want to stop and refill again).
On July 12, 2014, Kristina Folcik set the first women's FKT on the Great Range Traverse, as reported below. Folcik ran with her husband, Ryan Welts. Their gps track is here. A year later Sarah Keyes took the ladies FKT down to 6h37m29s, as reported below (user "runadksk") with link to GPS track.
Great Range Traverse, map by Jan Wellford
?!), but wanted to share the fact that all you FKT-holders provide some great inspiration to the rest of us 'average' hill-runners out there!!
my only split i recall was Marcy at 5:32