2009 ADKHP Foundation Project #1...... the winner is

[Mavs00]

Mt. Adams Firetower Restoration

This year, the first (of hopefully 2) grants and awards that the Adkhighpeaks Foundation will make (and will be the focus of our fundraising efforts), will be the restoration and adoption of the Mt. Adams Firetower in the High Peaks Wilderness area. As most of you know, this little gem of mountain is NOTHING without the view from the firetower.

We are currently working with the DEC to adopt this "resource" and provide the funding to restore it to a "usable" condition (with a roof this time), so that it can be enjoyed by all once again. This will not just be a "donation" effort, as there will be some physical help involved too . The DEC will provide most of the profession labor/assistance and the helicopter lift to get most of the materials up top. We'll need a few strong men/woman to assist with some of the restoration, and more importantly, the hauling of stuff back down as well as ongoing support issues.

The projected cost to restore this beauty is ~$2500. We are going to raise and award $3500 in order to 1) provide the capital needed to get it fixed and reopened (including a roof). 2) plus enough extra for the "stuff that always comes up" , 3) The balance to either be held for when inevitable repairs are needed, or even to support educational programs much like the Mt. Azure and Arab firetower folks do.

It wasn't many years ago that this firetower was slated to hit the scrap-heap. For those that don't know, the tower was in operation from 1917-1972 by the ranger service in the use of forest fire prevention and then it fell into disuse and suffered years of abuse at the hands of the brutal mountain conditions. At one time it looked as if it was going to be dismantled altogether, rendering Mt. Adams to just another hilly bump in a vast sea of towering peaks around it.

For those that do not know the rest of the story; In 2003, the Open Space Institute bought all the land around it with the intention of donating all of it to NYS to be added to the High Peaks Wilderness Area. The would have required removal of the tower as a non-conforming structure. A large public outcry led the OSI to withhold donating all of the land and made exceptions for the 1/2 acre footprint that the tower sits on, thus ensuring the tower's survival for the foreseeable future. This was done on the condition that the tower be restored for public use. It initially was, but only for a brief time. Fierce windstorms in January, 2008 caused so much damage that the DEC had to close it once again for safety reasons. It will remain closed, and unusable (which puts it once again in jeopardy) until such time as SOMEONE ponies up some cash and a little sweat equity to put it back into a safe and usable condition.

That SOMEONE will be us . We chose this as the first grant of 2009 because we felt that it was something that would resonate with our community. The Firetowers are a uniquely ADK/Catskill (NYS Forest Preserve) icon and its historical significance is something that can be appreciated by all of us. Additionally, it will stand as a tangible symbol of our dedication to the betterment of the Forest Preserve areas that we are so passionate about. We hope to get the tower reopened in the Spring of 2010.

view from the tower

We are still sorting through a couple other requests to determine what our other 2009 project will be, so stay tuned on that front. Exciting times.

[1ADAM12]

This Rocks!

I have not climbed this GEM yet but plan too once Seth (SDG75) finishes his 46 this year. I have seen the Tower when I climbed Allen a few years ago and it looked magnificent!

Count me in for the fund raiser and any other help you may need

Adam

[daxs]

Nice choice mavs.

[hillman1]

Seriously. Wow. That is freaking incredible. Outstanding.

[AdkWalrus]

Awesome stuff. Any chance repairs to the Lake Jimmy bridge could be folded into this?

[Rockledge]

Great choice. I climbed this one last fall. It truly is a gem. Outstanding views of the High Peaks. It will certainly be nice to have all the railings back in place while climbing the tower.

[ward]

Slammy and Ward give it two thumbs up.......Hopefully we can be of some service

[TBPDPTI]

Excellent choice. Adam, you're going to love it! I've climbed it 5 times, and it seems to be better each and every time. I can't wait until I finish grad school and live in the area, because I am gonna be helping with all of these projects then!

May I suggest, as the second operation for this year, that the Hurricane Fire Twr be restored? Although there are beautiful views without it, it is in terrible shape.

[Mavs00]

Originally Posted by TBPDPTI

May I suggest, as the second operation for this year, that the Hurricane Fire Twr be restored? Although there are beautiful views without it, it is in terrible shape.

1 tower at a time

Actually there is a submission process.

[Gary]

Awesome choice! We helped with the Bald Mountain (Old Forge) project. Glad to donate some signed books for auction or some other event if you think would help to help raise some funds.