Grace Hudowalski atop one of the high peaks in the Adirondacks in an undated photo. She became the first woman "46er" when she reached the summit of Mount Esther on Aug. 26, 1937. (Courtesy Adirondack Forty-Sixers)

Grace Hudowalski became the first woman to climb all 46 Adirondack mountains with elevations more than 4,000 feet when she reached the summit of Mount Esther on Aug. 26, 1937. She was only the ninth person to be recorded attaining that record. On the 89th anniversary of that climb, here’s Paul Grondahl memorable October 1997 profile of Hudowalski, who died in 2004 at age 98. In 2014, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names approved a petition submitted by the Adirondack Forty-Sixers organization to rename East Dix, a mountain outside Keene Valley, as “Grace Peak” in her honor.

SCHROON LAKE — Even now, five months shy of her 92nd birthday, with an electric space heater aglow in the living room to ward off fall’s chill descending upon this rustic Adirondack camp, Grace Hudowalski must reach the summit.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Grace Hudowalski atop Chimney Mountain in the Adirondacks, in an undated photo. (Courtesy Adirondack Forty-Sixers)

Hudowalski atop Phelps Mountain. Over the course of her decades climbing in the Adirondacks, she climbed each of the 46 peaks over 4,000 feet of elevation at least twice. (Courtesy Adirondack Forty-Sixers)

Looping a cane over her right wrist while refusing assistance, Hudowalski gripped a cedar branch handrail and inched upward along the wall of a steep, narrow stairway to the second-floor bedrooms.

Her cat, a Himalayan named K2 after the fabled peak, watched indifferently from the landing. Her visitors and the cabin itself seemed to hold their breath as Hudowalski willed her way to the top, step by step, a dozen in all, as her atrophied left leg dragged behind her like a dead stump.

The useless limb is a cruelly ironic malady for the woman who is associated with climbing the Adirondack High Peaks more deeply than any other person.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Hudowalski has climbed all 46 peaks in New York state that are 4,000 feet or higher at least twice, many of the High Peaks a half-dozen times, and the highest one, Marcy, on dozens of occasions. Ask her about a favorite Adirondack peak and she’ll say that’s like asking a parent to name a favorite child.

As much as she might like to downplay it, Hudowalski is a legend in Adirondack hiking circles. She became an Adirondack Forty-Sixer and the first woman to do so in 1937, and its first president. Her fabled checked hiking shorts with the ADK 46-R patch on a pocket are on display behind glass at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake.

“There is something spiritual in it,'' Hudowalski said about the hikes.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

“The mountains mean something different and special to each person,'' she said. ‘They are what connect us as a group. But the journey is an inward one, learning about yourself.''

Through all the accolades and recognitions for her longevity and commitment to the mountains, Hudowalski has remained as humble as the $5 Montgomery Ward shoes she wore to climb many of the peaks during the early years. Then, she carried a little World War I musette bag over her shoulder, containing a homemade first aid kit, an orange, a thermos of tea and a sandwich with cream cheese and sliced stuffed olives.

Each summer, Hudowalski continues to leave behind her home in Albany — where she said she feels her age, is afraid to drive in city traffic, and is defeated by being forced to exist like a frail shut-in — and comes here to the North Country.

This is the 44th consecutive summer that Hudowalski has been coming to the camp.

Advertisement

Article........

© Times Union