About Mike Lynch

Mike Lynch is a multimedia reporter for the Adirondack Explorer. He can be reached at mike@adirondackexplorer.org. Sign up for Mike’s newsletter

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Comments

  1. Will Cotton says

    Sorry, a well placed boot pack is a tradition I will never totally let go of. I hear equipment snob when I read this. Snow is an inherently dynamic and impermanent surface, and it lies on land meant to be enjoyed by all, not just a/t and rendonnez skiers (and splitboards are ABSURDLY ineffective). Make a new skintrack if yours gets messed up, it’s not hard to break trail with modern skis. I put headphones on and hike where I please if I don’t care to use skins on a given tour. Put your skintrack where you want, up your a** if you want to tell me I can’t hike. I don’t even snowboard, but asking ppl to splitboard or carry heavy, crappy snowshoes and struggle on every minor decent, is intrusive if it doesn’t suit their tour or touring style or it isn’t in their equipment quiver. The forest is big enough for us all!

  2. Boreas says

    Another bad thing about post-holing not often mentioned is that your foot could find a hidden stream or puddle that could soak your foot. A pair of wet feet can be deadly in winter.

    • Boreas says

      ALSO, in my experience – especially in the HPW where trails may only be 4-6 feet wide in winter, previous damage from one post-holer may not ruin a trail – especially if you are smart enough to use snowshoes or backcountry skis. but a half-dozen post-holers can make the trail more unusable for other post-holers if they can’t find a place to place their feet! Swiss cheese is not a good hiking surface. Snowshoes can usually still be used, but skis may be problematic.

      These are trails we ALL share. Why not do the safe and courteous thing and follow common-sense regulations? It isn’t likely you will talk your way out of a ticket if stopped halfway up Colden.

  3. Jeanne says

    Well said Boreas & Dana! I’ve had the pleasure of snowshoeing & backcountry skiing in the Adirondacks for 35 years! Post holes on ski trails are inconsiderate & unsafe & simply makes no sense!

    • COL (R) Mark Warnecke says

      I just find it a sad statement about where we are and who we have become. We need the government to tell us when to wear snowshoes or skis. I don’t, and I own a dozen pairs of skis and snowshoes and use them as I see fit. I recall the time a few years ago when a rather annoying and insistent fellow outdoors person that I happened upon, not on a trail BTW, was shouting at me that I was breaking the law for not wearing snowshoes or ski in snow of about 3 to 6 inches. Yup. Sad state of affairs. Maybe some people should just stay inside.

  4. Jeremy says

    Snow shoes for twelve inches of snow.lol As a local who has hiked and snowboarded down over a dozen mountains I find the “rule” ridiculous. A small group of entitled people are responsible. They don’t want anyone else in the trails. Some of them actually believe the trails are theirs. I’ve been hit with ski poles and verbally abused by these elite people.

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