The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
By Phil Brown
The Open Space Institute has acquired a 1,285-acre property that will facilitate access to Huckleberry Mountain, a crag in the southeastern Adirondacks with great views and dozens of rock-climbing routes. Katharine Petronis, OSI’s northern program manager, said the non-profit organization will sell the property to the state for inclusion in the public Forest Preserve. That…
By Phil Brown
Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to file a petition with the federal Surface Transportation Board to force a rail company to remove empty oil-tanker cars stored on tracks in the central Adirondacks. “The Adirondack Park is home to some of the world’s most pristine forest lands, which powers its tourism economy, and we will not stand…
By Phil Brown
Tom Rosecrans is one of the most prolific rock climbers in the Adirondacks. The authors of the guidebook Adirondack Rock credit him with taking part in the first ascents of 122 climbing routes. On most of those, he was the leader, assuming the lion’s share of the risk. One of his routes, TR at the…
By Phil Brown
A state judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Environmental Conservation’s construction of “community connector” snowmobile trails in the Forest Preserve. Protect the Adirondacks argued that the trails—up to twelve feet wide on curves and graded smooth—violated Article 14 of the state constitution, which declares that the Preserve “shall be forever kept as…
By Phil Brown
Ellen Rocco has been at North Country Public Radio since 1980 and its station manager since 1985. That’s to say, she has been in public radio nearly as long as Garrison Keillor. She doesn’t know Garrison Keillor well. She spent the better part of an evening with him when he broadcast an episode of The…
By Phil Brown
In October I hiked up Thomas Mountain and Cat Mountain overlooking Lake George. I went up Thomas first, via old logging roads. Near the summit is a cabin built before the state bought the property in 2013. Inside the cabin were a sofa, table, lantern, a few foodstuffs, even some music speakers. Cabins are not…
By Phil Brown
When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is turn on North Country Public Radio. I leave it on as I eat breakfast and get ready for work. And so I’ve become quite familiar with The Writer’s Almanac, which had aired daily. In light of Wednesday’s news about Garrison Keillor, the show’s creator,…
By Phil Brown
How things changed in a day for backcountry skiers. On Monday, I enjoyed a cruise through fresh powder on the Bloomingdale Bog Trail. It was nice and cold. On Tuesday, it warmed considerably, so I figured I’d try the trail to Moose Pond, another early-season favorite. Because it’s in the woods, I hoped the trail…
By Phil Brown
The 5.5-mile Whiteface Mountain highway offers backcountry enthusiasts a chance to test their ski legs before the onset of winter in the Adirondacks.
By Phil Brown
The new volume collects nearly sixty essays by an esteemed Adirondack historian.