Alicia Boughton

It was a memorable High Peaks hike to the summit of Big Slide Mountain in the Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness Area.

Embracing the wintry, freezing conditions, hiking buddies, L-R. Francis Willis, Rodney LaPage and Alicia Boughton donned snowshoes and embarked Dec. 1 on the trek.

Rising 4,239 feet,Big Slide is the 27th highest Adirondack Peak. The mountain, located near Keene Valley in Essex County is named for the prominent steep cliff that rises to its summit.

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Alicia Boughton

Boughton, 34, of Rotterdam, N.Y., said she has been hiking in the Adirondacks ever since she began her weight loss journey in 2012. "After losing 90 pounds, I became a 46er on Nov. 29, 2014 and winter hiking is by far my favorite. I will be finishing my Winter 46 round this season as I'm currently 38 out of 46.

"My friends and I planned to hike Big Slide for sunset Saturday so we hit the trail around 11 a.m."

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Alicia Boughton

"We didn't want to get to the summit too early since we didn't want to freeze our butts off while waiting (for the sun to go down), so we took our time on the way up," Boughton said.

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"Lots of breaks, laughs and picture stops later we approached the treeline and were completely surprised by what we saw," Boughton said.

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Alicia Boughton

"I've been waiting for a cloud inversion like that every since my 46er journey began," Boughton said.

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Alicia Boughton

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"Thankfully, it wasn't too windy at all at the summit," Boughton said. "The weather was absolutely perfect, but it did get a little chilly -- maybe upper teens or low 20s."

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Alicia Boughton

"With the right gear, some hot bone broth and hot buttered rum, we were pretty comfortable hanging out at the summit admiring the amazing sight," Boughton said.

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Alicia Boughton

Alicia Boughton takes a long look as the sun sets on Big Slide Mountain. On her Facebook page, she wrote the following to accompany this photo: "Be okay with not knowing what might come next but just know that whatever it is...you will be okay."

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"Since we took our time on the hike, we didn't get back to the car until around 7 p.m. So our time out there was and (the entire journey) was about 8 hours. But according to my friend's GPS, our actual moving time was a little over 4 hours, Boughton said.

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SEND US YOUR WINTER HIKING PHOTOS/VIDEOS

Planning to scale an Adirondack or Catskill peak this winter? Take a cool summit photo or video? We'd like to see them. Send photos and video to NYup.com outdoors writer David Figura at dfigura@NYup.com.

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Wikapedia/Mwanner

MORE OUTDOORS ON NYUP.COM

We can't express enough the need to be prepared when embarking on winter hikes in the Adirondacks and Catskills.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC's Hiking Safety and Adirondack Backcountry Information webpage for more information. The following is a story of someone who wasn't prepared.

Forest Rangers use Snowmobiles, snowshoes to rescue Whiteface Mountain hiker.