Esther Mountain

In 1839 Esther McComb, a 15 year old schoolgirl set out to climb Whiteface Mt., but accidentally became the first person to climb Mt. Esther. There is a plaque on the summit in her honor. Esther is often climbed in conjunction with Whiteface, even though it is listed as an unmaintained trail.

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"Beautiful day! Not too crowded for a Friday. I had climbed Whiteface Mountain a year ago, and didn’t have the energy to make the extra mile and a half or so, out to Esther, so I drove six hours to the Adirondacks for my first trip of the season, to go collect my orphaned peak - Esther! " — jennifermurphy • Jul 20, 2018

"Gorgeous day, cool breezy, clear skies, couldn't ask for better to take on Whiteface and Esther. This is a good warm-up for the summer hikes, conditons good, the trail was pretty dry and we were up on top of Whiteface before the crowds came to visit. Esther was a little muddy in spots but the ground was solid under the mud. Took some nice pics from Whiteface only got the Plaque from Esther (no views). All in all a great time." — hbotc • Jun 9, 2018

"I went up to Whiteface in winter a couple years ago, but didn't tag Esther during that trip because it was so cold. So, I arrived at the ASRC at 12:45pm and was pretty sure I had enough time to get to Esther and back before dark. It was a pretty uneventful trip up to the summit. I saw only three other people out during my trip. I brought a small sled with me to slide down marble mountain on the return. The sled worked a little too well, so I only used it in a couple spots because it got going way to fast and I had trouble controlling my speed. One more winter 46er down, a ton still to go. " — LGH-Tom • Jan 19, 2018

"Journée sur Whiteface avec un groupe d'amis. Les crampons ont été nécessaire. C'était froid froid froid froid!!! :) Je n'ai vraiment pas aimé Esther. La difficulté pour se rendre là ne valait pas le sommet... " — fsoucy76 • Nov 11, 2017

"VERY muddy - took the trail from the research center which was filled with rubble rock and straight up, will take the reservoir trail for Whiteface as we ran out of daylight due to the Ironman traffic detours. " — brittanypalmieri • Sep 10, 2017

"First High Peak of the day. Great day. Perfect weather and great company. Muddy on the way to and from Esther, but it is to be expected this time of year. The bugs were almost none existent which was a major plus." — Right-On • May 28, 2017

"A big loop today up the ski hills, then down the trails on this side. A side trip to this unassuming peak, one that you don't know you are at until you almost step on the plaque! " — dougbarton • Jun 15, 2016

"Solo. Started out from the ASRC at around 0900. I guess I chose to mis-remember how steep the hike is up Marble, or thought it would be easier without ice (not! Hello ankle-roller rocks!), but the first portion of my morning went fairly slowly. Not much to speak of in terms of mud until after the turn off at the large cairn to get to Esther, & then it became real shoe-sucking black mud in short order. I have been curious about what "trail-less peaks" look like in the Adirondacks, and the blatant path to the summit was nice to see, I think some marked trails in the Catskills are harder to follow, haha. The trail was quite narrow in some areas, and it was really odd to be crunching over snow in certain spots on a seventy degree day. I had a pleasant hike up without really seeing anyone - loved the plaque at the summit. No black flies, but lots of the non-biting large loud ones which was sort of annoying. Had a decent but hazy view of Whiteface which was nice. On my hike out I met all types of talkative and interesting folks from all ages and degrees of hiking experience. Overall, not my favorite so far by any means, but a good day. " — kellieirene • May 20, 2016

"Left from the Atmospheric Science Research Center to a beautiful but cold day. Climbed through some falling icicles through the top portions which made for a gorgoes hike. We met a group of hikers on top of Esther who were planning on finishing one hiker's 46th on top of Whiteface next. If we had time, we would've followed (but I have completed Whiteface a few years prior..we were coming back to finish the duo of mountains in Esther)." — heyjudeee • Oct 10, 2015

"Did Esther and Whiteface via the Marble Mountain trail. Nice hike, Esther doesn't have great views except looking back at Whiteface. It was a weekend and Whiteface was extremely crowded at the summit, didn't take pictures just wanted to get back!" — hbotc • Aug 29, 2015

"Ce voyage aller-retour d'une journée représentait nos premières montagnes nous rapprochant du titre d'ADK 46-ers depuis que l'objectif avait été décidé. Tout au long de la semaine, nous suivions la météo qui ne s'avérait pas clémente pour la journée visée (d'autant plus que je venais d'attraper une grippe), mais finalement la pluie ne s'annonçait qu'en fin d'après-midi et nous avons tenté notre chance. Antoine venait de s'acheter ses premières bottes de marche et je m'apprêtais à mettre les miennes seulement pour la 5e ou 6e fois. Je dois avouer m'être préparé de meilleure façon qu'Antoine, amenant un t-shirt, chandail à manches longues, imperméable, pantalons, 4L d'eau en plus des lunchs pour nous 2 (je savais que je ne pouvais pas lui faire confiance). Équipement d'Antoine: 2 bouteilles d'eau de 600 mL, short et t-shirt. Dès le départ de la randonnée, nous cherchions notre souffle lorsque la montée abrupte a commencée; moi avec ma grippe et Antoine avec sa condition physique déficiente. Ça ne prit pas trop longtemps avant qu'il jure ne plus jamais sous-estimer les besoins en eau pour une randonnée. Le moral était bon et la vitesse adéquate jusqu'au sommet de Esther où nous ..." — PL5 • May 30, 2015

"Enjoyed a great hike to Esther and Whiteface today via Marble and the Wilmington trail. Conditions were warm (15 - 20 degrees) and a mix of sun and clouds with a storm on the summit of Whiteface. Great day with a lot of folks on the trail." — deb-and-rob • Mar 7, 2015

"Nice summit on my way down from Whiteface. Stopped on Lookout Mtn on the way. Cool marker on the top about the "Esther" that discovered the mountain when she was trying to summit Whiteface. Silly girl. Love the Daks in the fall! " — MooseHiker • Oct 5, 2012

"Climbed Marble, Whiteface and Esther mountains from the Atmospheric Sciences Center. See my trip report and pictures at: http://www.offonadventure.com/2012/04/whiteface-esther-mountains-wilmington.html" — Telemarkmike • Apr 20, 2012

"Johnny and I climbed Esther and Whiteface in 10 1/2 hours. Lots of blowdown at lower elevations, especially on the ASRC trail. Started to rain atop Whiteface. Johnny fell headlong off the side of the trail, banged his leg on a rockface once also. No bruises, but plenty of scratches for both of us from blowdown. Saw partridge playing broken wing trick, probably had a nest near the trail. Saw lady's slippers." — barbaratraver • Jun 2, 1998

"On our descent from Whiteface, with its stellar views, we strolled over to Esther to get that full Adirondack experience of mingling with snow-laden trees offering their gifts of whiteness." — Nimblefoot • Mar 16, 1996