When I skied to Avalanche Lake a week ago, the bottom of the Trap Dike in Mount Colden didn’t have much snow. Evidently, there is enough snow higher up to ski the dike and the upper slide. The video below is from Drew Haas’s website Adirondack Backcountry Skiing. The site has a number of other videos worth checking out. 2/20/2012 from ADKBCSKI on Vimeo.
Little snow, lots of fun
The round trip to Raquette Falls is an ideal ski in winters with a dearth of snow. By Phil Brown By early January, we were desperate. We had enough snow to ski the Whiteface Mountain toll road, local golf courses, and a few easy trails, but that was it. As the ski-less days dragged on, we wondered if winters like this would become the norm in our warming world. Finally, we got a six-inch snowfall. In most Januaries, this would be icing on the cake. This year, it was the cake, and we were determined to enjoy it. But six >>More
Ski trip to Avalanche Pass
We sent files for the March/April Explorer to the print shop Monday, so I took the next day off to ski to Avalanche Pass and, given the dearth of snow this winter, was surprised at the quality of the skiing. I also tried out our new Go Pro video camera during the descent of Avalanche Pass. It worked much better than my old system of strapping a point-and-shoot to my chest during my downhill schusses. You can check it out here: We may get rain this week, so the conditions could change, but for what it’s worth, here’s my >>More
Ski centers hanging on
Despite lack of snow, most cross-country facilities manage to stay open. By Rick Karlin Donald Preuninger and Brian McDonnell have something in common: they both took over cross-country-ski centers before one of the warmest and driest winters in recent memory. But they aren’t complaining about the weather—not too much, anyway. “I can’t tell you we’re doing great, but we are hanging in there pretty well,” said Preuninger, who bought Garnet Hill Lodge near North Creek for $1.2 million in December. McDonnell took over management of the Visitor Interpretive Center in Paul Smiths last year after the Adirondack Park Agency decided >>More
For our foul-weather friends
We’ve seen many photos of the Adirondacks taken on blue-sky days with puffy clouds or during sunsets when the horizon is ablaze with red, orange, and purple. We’ve seen far fewer taken in the middle of a blinding blizzard or horrific rainstorm. If you have one, you might submit it to Teton Gravity Research’s Gnarliest Weather Photo Contest. The winner and three runner-ups will win some pricey Gore-Tex gear. TGR, a maker of a maker of ski and surf films, is accepting photos online. The public has a chance to influence the outcome of the contest: the judges will consider >>More
Finally, snow in the Adirondacks
We finally got a bit of snow in Saranac Lake. Not enough for backcountry skiing, but enough to get you thinking about it. On my lunch hour yesterday, I hiked Baker Mountain and took the photo above. The few inches we got might be enough to ski on golf courses, the Whiteface highway, and a few of the easier trails in the region. I hope to check out the trail to Moose Pond later in the week. This is a good time to remind people that the Adirondack Ski Touring Council regularly updates cross-country-ski conditions online. It reports that Nordic >>More
An oasis on Mount Arab
By Evan Williams On a brisk winter day, my dad and I set out for a snowshoe excursion up Mount Arab, a small peak with a restored fire tower west of Tupper Lake and a panoramic view of the northern Adirondacks. Because the climb to the 2,545-foot summit is only a mile, with an elevation gain of 760 feet, this is a good trip for children or novice snowshoers. We saw no other people on this weekend day in March, but judging from the packed trail and postholes, Mount Arab does get climbed in winter. As we ascended, we began >>More
Dams and wilderness
DEC’s decision not to rebuild the structure at Duck Hole raises questions about the future of other artificial lakes in the Forest Preserve. By Phil Brown Before Tropical Storm Irene, hikers had urged the state to repair the old logging dam at Duck Hole to preserve its impoundment, a charming brook-trout pond ringed by mountains in the High Peaks Wilderness Area. When Irene’s floods broke the dam, emptying most of the pond, the state Department of Environmental Conservation was forced to make a decision, and it chose not to rebuild. In part, the department’s rationale was practical. Given the remoteness >>More
Klondike is skier’s gold
Secluded pass offers winter adventurers beauty, solitude, and a good run back. By Phil Brown When I was a novice backcountry skier, I once climbed to Klondike Notch, the pass between Howard and Yard mountains in the High Peaks Wilderness, and endured a frightful descent on the way back, falling on my butt a few times to avoid slamming into trees. Maybe that’s why I didn’t return for ten years. Now I’m sorry I waited so long. Sue Bibeau (the Explorer’s designer) and I skied to the notch in early spring and thought it a delightful trail. The steeper parts >>More
Help the world; watch a ski film
Want to do something good for the world? Then watch the new Teton Gravity Research ski film at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts this Friday night. Proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the Adirondack Ski Touring Council and the Barkeater Trails Alliance, two nonprofit organizations that maintain trails for cross-country skiing and mountain biking in and around Lake Placid. The film, One for the Road, follows some of the world’s best skiers on the road and on the slopes, whether in Jackson Hole, Japan, Iceland, or Alaska. The doors open at 7 p.m., and the movie starts >>More
