[From the 2024 Holiday Magazine]
Written By Robert C. Lawrence
Part of the "WHAT'S WITH THOSE
ADIRONDACK MOUNTAIN NAMES?" Series
While kayaking on beautiful Lake Durant near Blue Mountain Lake, NY, one June day, my wife Carol Ann asked, "Where does Blue Mountain get its name?" So we visited the nearby Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake to buy a place names book. But there was no such publication. So… I wrote What's With Those Adirondack Mountain Names?
Whiteface Mountain Ski Resort’s Chairlift, Mid 20th Century Photographed by Monroe Dixson, courtesy of Richard Dixson.
Harold (Hal) B. Burton (1908-1992), a journalist, author, war hero, and Adirondack activist, once owned the Lost Brook Tract in Keene Valley.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Hal Burton later studied journalism and became a writer for the Saturday Evening Post, Life Magazine, and the New York Daily News. He also published several books.
When not writing, he excelled in skiing, rock climbing, and outdoor pursuits, especially in the Adirondack Mountains. These skills were critical in his later life pursuits.
Hal Burton was a remarkable journalist and a man of extraordinary courage. His investigative reporting for the New York Daily News in 1940 led him to Mexico, where he uncovered a Nazi spy group causing him to flee for his life with another reporter.
During World War II, Burton joined a division that would become the renowned Tenth Mountain Division of the United States Army as an officer. This elite unit trained in skiing, mountain climbing, and surviving in cold weather. Burton, an experienced alpine skier and rock climber, was among the instructors who taught thousands of troops in these skills. In 1945, during the Italian Campaign, the Tenth Mountain Division played a significant role in the Allies' efforts to advance into Italy by capturing Riva Ridge in the northern Apennine Mountains. Burton's rock-climbing skills were crucial in planning this operation. On February 18, 1945, seven hundred men secretly scaled the ice and snow-covered ridge under cover of darkness and fog. They surprised the sleeping Germans, who had thought the ridge was impossible to climb. The successful capture of Riva Ridge remains the most daring raid in United States military history.
After the war, Hal Burton returned to journalism as an editorial writer for Newsday. He also authored four books about the Walton Boys and their outdoor adventures. His most notable work, however, is the 1971 book 'Ski Troops.' This book describes the early history of skiing in the United States and the heroic exploits of the Tenth Mountain Division in World War II. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of skiing and the bravery of these soldiers.
Hal Burton's voluntary efforts were instrumental in creating the Whiteface and Gore Mountain Ski Centers in the Adirondacks. Established through constitutional amendments, these centers have become iconic destinations for skiing enthusiasts. Burton's vision and dedication to the outdoors have left a legacy we can all appreciate.
Hal purchased forty acres on a remote mountain in Keene Valley to have primitive Adirondack land to escape civilization. The land was surrounded by public land, making it difficult to survey. He named the property the Lost Brook Tract, and all he built on it was a lean-to. You can find the story of Hal Burton's land experience in "Forty Acres on a Mountain," published in the May-June 1953 issue of Adirondac magazine.
Pete Nelson, who purchased Hal Burton's property and sought and obtained approval for the mountain's name from the United States Board on Geographic Names to have the unnamed mountain on his forty acres, Burtons Peak, with solid support from local and state government agencies and Adirondack advocates. The mountain was officially named Burtons Peak, without an apostrophe, as geographic names cannot contain punctuation. Whether it is spelled Burton's or Burtons, it doesn't diminish Hal Burton's significance in the United States, especially in the Adirondacks.
At 3632 feet, Burtons Peak, situated in the town of Keene, Essex County, is a monument to a monumental man. Thanks to Pete Nelson (Board Chair, Adirondack Wilderness Advocates) for contributing to this story.
