Meaning of the Term
A 46er is a person who has climbed all forty-six of the traditionally recognized High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains.
Origins
The first 46ers were brothers Robert and George Marshall, and their guide and family friend Herbert Clark. The Marshalls thought up the idea after spending much of their childhood in the region and examining their father's (Louis Marshall, another prominent figure in the region's history) collection of Verplanck Colvin maps. They devised criteria for the high peaks they would climb, choosing any summit that was more than 4,000 ft above sea level in elevation with at least 300 ft rise on all sides. They initially planned to climb only the summits above 4,000 feet, of which there were 42 and did so between 1918 and 1924. They climbed the 4,000 ft mountains later, on the suggestion of friends.
At the time that they undertook this goal, there were neither maintained nor unmaintained trails up any of the trails, making this a particularly formidable accomplishment. One of the peaks, Mt. Marshall in the MacIntyre Range, has since been named in their honor and the brook which the most popular approach to the summit follows is named Herbert Brook in honor of Mr. Clark.
46ers Today
There are a substantial number of 46ers today, and those who climb all the peaks are permitted to join an organization called the 46ers Club, which works to preserve the high peaks and other areas of the Adirondacks. Although the tradition is to climb the original 46 peaks, more recent surveys have shown that 4 of these peaks are actually lower than 4,000 feet in elevation and another, MacNaughton Mt., is actually just at 4,000 feet despite earlier surveys that showed it at a lower elevation. All peaks have at least one maintained trail or thoroughly broken-in unmaintained trail.
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