Welcome to my Catskill Mountain Adventures page!

     I want to welcome you all to a new page I created to share stories of the adventures I've had climbing up the Catskill Mountains of New York.  My stories will take you along on a journey that will cover all thirty-five high peaks and some of the other ones.  I'll start by giving a little background about myself.  My name is Ron Loeber and I'm a professional hiking guide in New York.  I guide exclusively in the Catskills and started guiding in the summer of 2013.  I climbed my first high peak (Plateau Mountain) on July 12th, 2012 and completed my 35th high peak (North Dome) on October 28th, 2013.  This included climbing up four of them (Slide, Panther, Balsam, and Blackhead) again in the winter!  I joined the 3500 club soon after that and received my patch.  It was a great moment in my life and the feeling of accomplishment was tremendous.

     I want to focus this blog on the mountains and the history not only of the mountains but some of the great people throughout time that have blazed the trails so we all can continue to enjoy them today.  Such names as John Burroughs and Thomas Cole were key in bringing to light all that the Catskills had to offer.  A commemorative plaque resides near the summit of Slide Mountain where John Burroughs spent many a nights. 

     Another aspect I want to include in my blogs is the geological & natural history of the Catskills.  What created the Catskills?  Did you know that a half-mile wide meteorite crashed into the Catskills 375 million years ago?  What are the types of plant life?  What types of animals live and have lived in the Catskills?

     Throughout my many hikes in the Catskills I have seen some amazing views and wonders.  I cherish every moment I have had in the mountains and look forward to being in them again.  I hope you will continue to follow my posts and my journeys into the great outdoors.  For now, I will leave you with an amazing view from one of my adventures.  I'll let you guess which mountain I took it from!