Grace Hudowalski and the 46

In our trip to the Elizabethtown museum this week, I was drawn to a small exhibit in the corner of the first floor that focused on a woman named Grace Hudowalski (1906-2004). Grace was the first woman (and ninth person overall) to climb each of the 46 peaks that were thought at the time to be taller than 4,000 feet tall. Although there are thousands of women today who have followed Hudowalski's accomplishment, she had some particularly difficult obstacles to face.

First of all, most--if not all--of the peaks were without clear trails in 1922, the year when she first climbed Mt. Marcy at only 15 years old. Today, Marcy is a relatively simple day trip, but in 1922 it was a three day trek to the summit, with gear that is much more cumbersome than what we are used to today. Over the course of the next twelve years, Hudowalski climbed the rest of the 46 Peaks, and was one of the strongest advocates in New York state for the protection of the High Peaks wilderness. Today, the Adirondack 46ers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of the 46 Peaks, and publishes the famous lists each year of those who reached every summit. Grace Hudowalski helped to found that organization and was their first president.

Before our museum visit, I had heard about Grace in the context of a debate to rename East Dix Mountain to Grace Peak. In the summer of 2014, the DEC officially approved the name change, although I have heard rumors that the signs in the area have not yet been switched. The name "East Dix" is still used very frequently and I have yet to hear someone refer to it as Grace Peak. Hopefully this is just the transition period and the new name will stick in the near future, becoming the second peak to be named after a woman (the other one is Esther Mountain, next to Whiteface).