Wright Peak

The mountain was named by surveyor Verplanck Colvin for former governor Silas Wright in 1873. Earlier references exist to a "Mount Wright" in the Adirondacks, but did not record if the name referred to the same peak. The earliest recorded ascent was made in 1893 by state botanist Charles H. Peck and guide Charles Wood.

On January 16, 1962, a B-47 aircraft from Plattsburgh Air Force Base crashed into Wright Peak during a training mission, killing all four crewmen. Their training mission involved practicing low bombing runs over Watertown, New York. Due to inclement weather, the bomber veered about {{Convert|30|mi|km}} off course, and into the High Peaks region. The aircraft made its impact just below the summit of Wright Peak. Due to severe winter weather, which left snow drifts of {{Convert|10-18|ft|m}} on the mountain and produced wind gusts of over {{Convert|50|mph|kph}}, the search and rescue mission which followed took weeks to identify and retrieve the wreckage and bodies of the airmen.{{cite web |title=B47 Plane Crash into Wright Peak of Adirondacks Death of First Lieutenant Rodney D. Bloomgren |url=http://www.rit.edu/~kaddss/rodneybloomgren.html |website=rit.edu |access-date=20 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104122128/http://www.rit.edu/%7Ekaddss/rodneybloomgren.html |archive-date=4 November 2005}} Pieces of the wreckage can still be found on the summit, and a plaque commemorating the event has been installed nearby.

Wright Peak is the northernmost major peak of the MacIntyre Range. On its northeastern slope is a shorter peak known as the Whale's Tail. The other peaks of the MacIntyre Range, Algonquin Peak, Boundary Peak, Iroquois Peak, and Mount Marshall, are located to the southeast.{{cite book |editor1-last=Goodwin |editor1-first=Tony |title=Adirondack trails. High peaks region |date=2021 |publisher=Adirondack Mountain Club |isbn=9780998637181 |edition=15th |pages=118–121}} The summit of the mountain lies above the treeline. On the southeastern slopes of the mountain are two landslides known as the Left Wing and Right Wing slides after their relation to the wreckage of the crashed B-47 near the summit. Three additional slides, known as the Angel slides, formed more recently on the northeastern slopes.{{cite journal |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Kevin B. |title=Adirondack Landslides: History, Exposures, and Climbing |journal=Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies |date=2016 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=167–183 |url=https://digitalworks.union.edu/ajes/vol21/iss1/13 |access-date=19 September 2024}}

An approach to Wright Peak can be made from the Adirondak Loj, heading on the Van Hoevenberg Trail to an intersection with the yellow-blazed trail to Algonquin Peak. The yellow trail proceeds uphill to an intersection with the blue-blazed trail for Wright Peak, {{Convert|3.4|mi|km}} from the Loj. After a left turn the blue-blazed trail proceeds the final {{convert|0.4|mi|km}} and up the last few hundred feet of elevation through the alpine zone, for a total one-way distance of {{Convert|3.8|mi|km}} and an ascent of {{Convert|2400|ft|m}}.

Skiing on Wright Peak is popular in the winter. The first ski trail on the mountain was constructed in 1938.{{cite news |last1=Lynch |first1=Mike |title=Rerouting the Wright Peak Ski Trail |url=https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/view_finder/wright-peak-ski-trail-reroute |access-date=20 September 2024 |work=Adirondack Explorer |date=28 June 2018}} Avalanches have been recorded on the mountain during the ski season. A 2000 avalanche on Wright resulted in the only recorded fatality in the Adirondacks. Several skiers have been partially buried by subsequent avalanches but have self-rescued in all cases.{{cite news |last1=Lynch |first1=Mike |title=Two skiers survive avalanche on Wright Peak |url=https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/two-skiers-survive-massive-avalanche-on-wright-peak |access-date=20 September 2024 |work=Adirondack Explorer |date=14 February 2022}}

Image:Mount Colden from Wright Peak.jpg|Mount Colden from Wright, Marcy at left

Image:Wright Peak NY.jpg|Wright Peak as seen from Marcy Dam (note snow-covered Marcy Dam Pond, foreground)

Image:Pitchoff, Cascade and Porter, from Wright.jpg|Pitchoff, Cascade and Porter, from Wright

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.adirondack-park.net/history/b47.wright.html An Air Force Bomber Crashes into Wright Peak] at adirondack-park.net
• [https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/hiking/adirondack-backcountry/backcountry-information-for-adirondack-park Backcountry information for Adirondack Park] at dec.ny.gov
• [https://www.lakeplacid.com/do/hiking/wright-peak Wright Peak hiking guide] at lakeplacid.com
• [https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=6021 Wright Peak geography] at peakbagger.com
• [https://www.summitpost.org/page/150558 Wright Peak description] at summitpost.org

{{Adirondack High Peaks}}

{{Mountains of New York}}

Category:Mountains of Essex County, New York

Category:Adirondack High Peaks

Category:Mountains of New York (state)