Skiing The Whiteface Highway
By Phil Brown
We made this on one of our last skis of the season (4/8/17). There was still plenty of snow. That’s why the highway is popular early and late in the winter: it doesn’t need much snow to be skiable.
Phil Brown
Phil Brown edited the Adirondack Explorer from 1999 until his retirement in 2018. He continues to explore the park and to write for the publication and website.
All Stories by Phil Brown
DEC Says Man Kept Bobcat Locked In Shed
By Phil Brown
Wildlife photographer Larry Master is writing about bobcats in the May/June issue of the Adirondack Explorer and submitted a great photo to go along with text. After reading about these beautiful creatures—the last wild felines in the Adirondacks—I was disturbed to learn that a man had been keeping a bobcat locked in a shed at…
Adirondack Ski Season Draws To A Close
By Phil Brown
On Sunday I spent the day skiing in the backcountry. On Monday I hiked up Baker Mountain looking for wildflowers. Yep, it’s mud season. Although I had two good ski days last weekend, my season is at an end. I skied the Whiteface Memorial Highway on Saturday and several trails in the High Peaks on…
The Early Life Of Legendary Climber Royal Robbins
By Phil Brown
Royal Robbins, one of the country’s legendary rock climbers, died last month at age 82. He made his reputation climbing big walls in Yosemite and influenced the sport’s history with his promotion of climbing ethics. It so happens that I was reading To Be Brave, the first volume of Robbins’s autobiography, when he passed away…
Spring Skiing On Mount Marcy
By Phil Brown
The equinox occurred on March 20. The baseball season opened on April 2. Nevertheless, spring has not arrived on the top of Mount Marcy. I skied Marcy this past Monday and found good conditions from Adirondak Loj all the way to the summit (see videos below). With this week’s rain and warm weather, conditions won’t…
Skiing The Mount Marcy Trail
By Phil Brown
We made this short video on April 3, 2017, on a ski descent of Mount Marcy. This is a fun cruise along Phelps Brook. It’s pretty mellow, but watch out for rocks!
Adirondack Spring Skiing On Bloomingdale Bog Trail
By Phil Brown
We lost much our snow base around Saranac Lake in recent weeks. For my lunch-hour ski on Thursday, I was rattling my brain for a smooth trail or frozen pond, someplace where you can ski without a lot of snow. I settled on the Bloomingdale Bog Trail, which starts a few miles north of the…
State: Rail Trail Doable Despite Deed Questions
By Phil Brown
Uncertainty about deeds held up for months the lawsuit filed against the state over its plan to remove tracks and create a 34-mile rail trail between Lake Placid and Tupper Lake. The state thought it owned the entire rail corridor but discovered it does not have title to two parcels: a half-mile stretch near North…
Adirondack Pond Skiing After A Bitter Cold Night
By Phil Brown
When I got up Thursday morning, my weather app claimed it was 18 degrees below zero in Saranac Lake. Though skeptical, I’ll concede that it was damn cold when I stepped outside. I had to drive to Malone to look over court documents filed in the lawsuit over the state’s plan to split the state-owned…
Trail Advocates Join Adirondack Rail-Trail Lawsuit
By Phil Brown
Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates filed a friend-of-the-court brief this week in the lawsuit over the state’s plan to remove 34 miles of railroad tracks between Lake Placid and Tupper Lake and create a trail for bicycling, hiking, snowmobiling, and other pursuits. ARTA joined the suit on the side of three state agencies being sued: the…