Recent warm weather and rains have significantly depleted the snowpack throughout the Adirondacks recently. Many trails have been left with a ribbon of hard-packed snow and/or ice. Of course, that wasn’t the case earlier this winter when we had a pretty consistent snowpack due to a long spell of cold weather. Here’s a ski video from Dewey Mountain from that time period in January, when the skiing was good … Hopefully, better conditions will return in March.
Why there’s snowmaking at Mount Van Hoevenberg XC ski center
The winter of 2015-2016 was a difficult one for the Mount Van Hoevenberg cross-country-ski center. Warm weather and rains forced the venue to close in February, ending a season that lasted a mere thirty-seven days. Mount Van Hoevenberg manager Kris Cheney-Seymour said the short ski season inspired the center to find a way to stay open longer in warm winters. By the following winter, Van Ho had installed a snowmaking system known as the Snow Factory, which is made by TechnoAlpin, the company that provides snowmaking equipment at the state’s downhill resorts. The result: it stayed open 137 days last >>More
Video of Press Conference about the missing Whiteface skier
Part of a press conference about the search effort for skier Constantinos “Danny” Filippidis, who went missing at Whiteface Mountain on Feb. 7 and was located in Sacramento, California, on February 13. Speaking at the press conference are state police Major John Tibbitts and forest ranger Captain John Streiff on Wednesday, February 14, in Ray Brook.
Scenes from today’s search at Whiteface Mountain
The skier who was the subject of a large-scale search at Whiteface Mountain was located alive and well in Sacramento, California, on Tuesday, February 13, according to state police. Filippidis went missing on Wednesday, February 7. Forest Ranger David Russell told the Explorer that Filippidis was last seen at mid-station lodge area by his friends. Constantinos “Danny” Filippidis of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, made contact with local authorities there, ending a multi-agency search that included forest rangers, state police and other state and federal agencies. Read full story here
Inside the Hotel Saranac
The Hotel Saranac in Saranac Lake re-opened in January after being closed for renovations for the past several years. Built in 1927, Hotel Saranac had fallen into disrepair under the previous owners, the Arora family, and out of favor of both locals and visitors. The family bought the hotel from Paul Smith’s College in 2007. Roedel Companies of New Hampshire purchased it for $1.4 million in December 2013. The company spent $35 million on the renovations and a two-story parking garage. “One of the goals was to take it back to 1927 and what it looked like then,” Hotel Saranac >>More
Building the Saranac Lake Ice Palace
Construction of the ice palace for the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival started on Wednesday, as volunteer crews took advantage of the chilly weather. Above are photos from Friday, January 26.
Ice Jams develop on the West Branch of the Ausable River
Heavy rains and melting snow in the mountains caused ice to break up on the east, west, and main branches of the Ausable River today. Moving downstream, the ice became jammed in sections of the Ausable rivers near Lake Placid, Jay, and Ausable Forks. The jams resulted in flooding that closed several roads. Drastically changing weather patterns are forecasted for the next several days. Temperatures were in the 50 degree range today, but the forecast is calling for temperatures to drop to about negative 20 degrees over the weekend. Heavy snows are also expected tonight. View images of snowy mountains >>More
Snowy Peaks in the Lake Placid Region
Snowy peaks in the Lake Placid region were on full display Sunday, January 7, a day when temperatures final went above zero degrees Fahrenheit after a frigid weekend. (Click on the above photos to see the full images.) See more mountain photos Snow covered St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower
Scenes from a frigid Saranac Lake
People living in the Adirondacks woke up to frigid temperatures Friday morning. In Saranac Lake, the temperature hovered around -10 degrees Fahrenheit and gusty winds. The National Weather Service in Burlington reported wind chills at about -30 in the northern Adirondacks and have issued a wind chill advisory until Saturday night. “The dangerously cold wind chills will cause frostbite in as little as 10 minutes to exposed skin,” declared a NWS weather advisory. “Expect wind chills to range from 30 below zero to 45 below zero.” And that was in the lower elevations. Up high in the mountains, temperatures were >>More
