As I said earlier, somehow, I’ve always liked to get to the top of high places. The 103rd floor of the Empire State Building. The roof of the World Trade Center. The Grand Canyon. Haleakalā in Hawaii. The top of WBAU’s antenna mast. The roofs of a number of cathedrals in Spain and Portugal. The catwalks and fly lofts of several theaters. Climbing on the trusses in the high school gymnasium to hang lights for a prom.

However as I also said before, I much prefer it when you can drive or take an elevator to the top; it is being at the top, the view that I enjoy, not the climb. And that is even more true as I’ve gotten older.

I had three opportunities to be in “high places” on this trip. The first was the Walkway over the Hudson. No climbing required, just walk across the bridge, over 200 feet above the river. The second was the top of Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. Since I didn’t climb to the top of the 93 foot War Memorial Tower (too many people in a confined space with COVID flourishing), I just drove to the mountaintop, thanks to the well-maintained paved road, parked and wandered around, 3500 feet above sea level.

Here are photographs of the third and final place, and here I did have to climb, at least some. Whiteface Mountain is the fifth highest mountain in New York, and the highest, at 4865 feet, with a road (almost) to the top. The road ends in a parking area about 300 feet below the summit. There is an elevator inside the mountain to take you to the top, but it is presently broken (more on that below!) The alternative to the elevator is a trail, supposedly about 1000 feet long which climbs the 300 remaining feet. I say supposedly, because it was the longest 1000 feet I’ve hiked in some time. Part of the trail is stairs or steps cut into the boulders, but in places you are just climbing over the boulders. There are railings to keep you on the trail, but it is steep, rough and in places slippery.

The climb is listed as “difficult”. The sign at the bottom said, “participants should be in good physical condition”. But I saw that many folks in no better shape than I were climbing it, so I gave it a try. I’d go up a ways and them stop for a minute or two and rest, then climb some more. And I made it to the top OK. But the most difficult climb I’ve done in a few years. Part way up, as I was letting others pass while I took a break, a guy probably my age is coming down, looks at me and says “Hey, I’ve had six heart bypasses, if I can make it, you can”.

The view and the satisfaction of having completed the climb made it worthwhile.

Now about the elevator: The road and original elevator were completed in the mid 1930’s. President Roosevelt, who dedicated the road, wanted the elevator, as you may remember he had suffered from Polio. As a champion of the disabled, he wanted the mountaintop to be accessible to all. However, despite Roosevelt’s involvement, the road and elevator were paid for by the State of New York, not Washington (unlike the road to the top of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts, a WPA project). The original elevator, a significant engineering feat, used the technology of the time, with a control system designed with electromechanical relays. By the 21st century, the elevator was showing its age and parts were hard to obtain. A decision was made to renovate it with modern technology. By 2019, the rebuilt, modern elevator was opened with great fanfare. A trade magazine, Elevator World, called it Project of the Year for 2021. But as an employee there, who will remain nameless, said “what were they thinking?” The elevator shaft is a damp, wet tunnel through the mountain. The building on the top, by far the highest point for miles around regularly gets struck by lightning. Water, lightning and the solid-state electronics in the new elevator don’t mix. The elevator promptly broke, they are still waiting for parts, and the employee said they realize they must improve the grounding to prevent lightning damage. The old technology lasted over 70 years. The new technology didn’t even last one year!

All in all, getting to the top of Whiteface was another highlight of a great trip.