I first met Mike Whelan on top of Mount Marcy many years ago. Like me, Mike had skied to the summit and was looking forward to the run down. The following year I skied with him on Algonquin and Wright peaks.
That second outing resulted in a story that appeared in the Adirondack Explorer. We were accompanied by Susan Bibeau, who took photos; her husband, Jeff Oehler; and Ron Konowitz, the first person to ski all 46 of the High Peaks.
Whelan has since moved to Colorado, where he continues to ski in the backcountry. He has created a YouTube channel, Treasured Heights, dedicated to his ski-mountaineering adventures out west.
Recently, though, Whelan released a short video about the backcountry-ski trails on Jenkins Mountain, which were designed by Konowitz in collaboration with the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretative Center. The trails opened to the public a few years ago.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
As Konowitz says in the video, Paul Smith’s is the only college in the nation with a backcountry-ski zone on its campus. While fun for the students, the trails also serve a serious purpose: to demonstrate that backcountry skiing is an ecologically benign sport.
Konowitz has been trying for many years to get the Adirondack Park Agency to come up with reasonable guidelines for backcountry-ski trails on the Forest Preserve. So far, he has been unsuccessful, but he’s hopeful that the agency will do so when it amends the State Land Master Plan.
In the video, Konowitz notes that he created three ski trails totaling 1.5 miles. In doing so, he cut only eight trees with a breast-height diameter of over two inches. Having walked the area on a fall day, before snow covered the ground, I can attest that the environmental impact is barely noticeable–certainly less than that of a hiking trail or snowmobile trail.
Backcountry skiing has been around far longer than the APA. The sport’s pioneers skied Marcy more than a century ago. It’s time that the agency accommodated this traditional use of the Forest Preserve.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
Whelan’s video helps make the case. It’s worth watching.
— Phil Brown
Photo at top: Ron Konowitz skis on one of the backcountry trails on Jenkins Mountain at the Paul Smith’s College VIC. Explorer file photo by Mike Lynch
The Jenkins Mountain demonstration project is a great use of private land. Perhaps it could be a model for encouraging skiing on non-Wilderness designated state lands. The HPW should not have trails widened to accommodate skiers with the staggering number of natural lines to ski. Waiting for appropriate conditions for a trail or natural lines to be safe for skiing is a moving target as skiing skills vary and snow stability changes. Step up skills rather than widening or glading trails for a small but vocal group of users.
Thanks Todd, this echoes my thoughts as well. I’ve been backcountry skiing around the North Country for decades, never once has the thought occurred to me, gee, if only this here wilderness trail were wider. In fact, in my opinion, if you’re on a trail at all you’re already doing it wrong. These folks aren’t advocating for backcountry skiing, they’re advocating for downhill skiing in the backcountry. If your skills and gear aren’t prepared for the terrain or conditions, and that includes land navigation with or without the presence of a trail, choose a different activity or location.
Seems like every day there is a “different” interest group trying to weaken wilderness protections.
“Different,” but yet all roads lead to weakening wilderness protection. Coincidence?
Yes, we should probably take out all the hiking trails as well since they make things too easy. People wishing to visit the park should be able to bushwack and navigate themselves or stay out.
See how that sounds? From my reading of the article, the author is only suggesting the park consider adding ski specific trails to help improve access to the areas many good slide lines. Allowing a couple of key trail connections doesn’t seem like a big issue to me.
If the Adirondack Park still had it’s old growth forests, there would be no need for trails since the trees would be larger and spread out. However, what we have is a park that has largely been logged already and has regrown as a new dense forest which makes backcountry navigation far more difficult. Pretending like it is untouched wilderness is a bit naive. Since our human interventions significantly reduced the ability to recreate here, I don’t see why further interventions would be an issue.
Nope. Not at all what was said. The park is already a vast of expanse of diverse activities — one of which is wilderness activities. I’m sorry that you can’t revel in the primeval forests of old but most people do just fine wildernessing in the roadless areas of today. Especially given that we know things grow if left to their own devices. Which seems to be your issue: too many things are growing in the wilderness areas for them to be suitable for downhill skiing or… recreating?
There is a vast difference between a wilderness foot trail through the interior and an old logging road through a wild forest (or any of those currently in use in wilderness areas.) I’m assuming you know that and think that somehow the primitive, interior hiking trail returns in the spring — or you know that and think because it isn’t some primeval forest of old we should all accept the widened not foot trails at all corridors for… reasons. Either way, nonsense. There are plenty of private lands, wild forests and even wilderness areas with old roads and railroad grades upon which to ski. Which are super handy for those who wish to explore them without also handling the navigation or bushwhacking.
There is obviously no actual need for widened wilderness trails for skiing.
I deal with this when saying more bike trails should be made in the wild forest (not wilderness areas) people are like I don’t need trails to hike. And that’s fair, but hiking isn’t the only suitable human powered recreation and wild forest already allow it, they just don’t have specific trails for it. By specific, I mean built with cycling in mind. And in a lot of cases simply using old forest roads, logging roads and hardening (summer seasoning) snowmobile trails would lead to a vast network of trails without any major environmental impact.
But… The Adirondacks are a disaster (a beautiful disaster) because no groups want to compromise and thus the end result is infighting and stagnation.
Excellent article and idea. Only 8 trees cut is commendable! Nice job.
Why? Any hiking trail can be an x-c ski trail. Certainly the original SLMP “character of a foot trail” wording for snowmobile trail is adequate for an x-c ski trail.
Although what would be really nice is to allow municipalities and civic organizations to work with the DEC to improve or create trails that start in town or close by, and allow them to be groomed and track set with a snowmobile or tracked ATV. This would provide a great economic benefit to the small Adirondack towns by bringing people of all ages interested in non-motorized winter recreation but not interested or experienced enough for “back country” skiing.