The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
After December snowfalls, our editor goes on his first ski trip of the season to High Rock in the Five Ponds Wilderness. By Phil Brown AFTER SEVERAL LONG days in the office, I went to bed dreaming of my first backcountry ski trip of the season, a jaunt to High Rock in the Five Ponds…
Pigeon Lake Wilderness offers skiers a quiet refuge in snowmobiling country. By Phil Brown
WHEN THERE’S deep snow in your own backyard, you might be reluctant to venture off to someone else’s stash, but that’s what we did last January. By Nancie Battaglia
On the Peavine Swamp trail system in the northwestern Adirondacks near Cranberry Lake I found a tranquil route through open forest, culminating on a knoll overlooking the Oswegatchie River.
Paul Smiths VIC offers more than just good snow: it has doubled the mileage of ski trails since taking over the facility from the state in 2011. By Phil Brown Winter started slowly, so after we received a few small snowfalls in late November, I jumped at the chance to go on my first ski…
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,…
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…
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…
By Phil Brown
In 1987, David Goodman got a dream job for a ski bum trying to survive as a freelance writer: the Appalachian Mountain Club hired him to write a guidebook for backcountry skiing in New England. The following year the club published Classic Backcountry Skiing: A Guide to the Best Ski Tours in New England. Unlike…
Snowy woods beckon skiers By Phil Brown We were all happy to be on our first backcountry ski trip of the season, but none of us was as excited as Ella. She often bolted ahead of us, eager to see what snowy adventure lay around the bend, and she kept her high spirits throughout our…