A 60-year-old woman from Tupper Lake is in critical condition after being hit by a tree early Saturday morning at Rock Pond near Putnam Pond Campground. The woman was rescued by forest rangers and local fire fighters who removed the tree that had pinned the woman, according to a state Department of Environmental Conservation. Storms raged through the North Country Friday night. High winds knocked down trees and caused widespread damage, including power outages. Three forest rangers responded after DEC Dispatch received a call asking for assistance from the state police at about 1 a.m. Unable to drive to the >>More
DEC proposes moving Cascade trailhead to Mt Van Ho
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is proposing to move the Cascade Mountain trailhead to the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex as a way to deal with the surge in hikers using the trail, according to a draft amendment to the High Peaks Wilderness unit management plan. This amendment, which also contains proposals for the Boreas Ponds tract and other lands, will before the Adirondack Park Agency next week at its monthy meeting. The APA board is expected to vote to schedule public hearings on the draft. APA might approve the plans as early as this summer. The DEC >>More
Many Adirondack ponds and lakes are still covered in ice
Standing on the shoreline of Follensby-Clear Pond on May 1, Doug Fitzgerald surveyed the ice conditions before him. “This (pond) is still locked up tight,” said Fitzgerald, referring to how ice covered much of the pond and hugged the shoreline. Fitzgerald has been keeping ice records on a handful of lakes and ponds in the vicinity of the St. Regis Canoe Area since 1992, when he started collecting data for a climate change study being conducted by a professor at the University of Buffalo. This visit marked the first time Fitzgerald has seen ice on Follensby-Pond Pond this late in >>More
Ice Out Progress on Long Lake
Ice out appears to be at least a couple of weeks away on many of lakes and ponds in the Adirondacks. However, Long Lake has lost some of its ice cover north of the Route 30 bridge. Long Lake is part of the Raquette River, which flows north through the High Peaks Wilderness toward Coreys on its way toward Tupper Lake and northwestern Adirondacks. Above are some photos from the Long Lake town beach on Monday, April 2.
Skiing Goodman Mountain in Tupper Lake
Conditions were optimal for skiing in the Adirondacks on March 15, when Explorer editor Phil Brown and I hit the trails near Tupper Lake. The area had received a series of snowstorms over the prior days and weeks, meaning the snowpack was a few feet deep. We started off the morning by skiing Coney Mountain, then hit Goodman Mountain at about noon. Phil then continued on to ski Arab Mountain, finishing off the Tupper Triad, three mountains promoted as part of a local hiking challenge. All three mountains are pretty small, but they aren’t skied very often. This day, it >>More
Skiing Coney Mountain
Explorer Editor Phil Brown and I skied Coney Mountain yesterday as part of a daylong ski trip. Phil went on to ski all three mountains of the Tupper Lake Triad (Coney, Goodman, and Arab), while I skied the first two, before heading home for a family event. The skiing on the 2,265-foot mountain was outstanding due to the recent snowfalls we’ve received in the past couple of weeks. Roughly a foot of fresh powder fell on the mountain in the prior 24 hours. That was important because normally you can’t ski Coney Mountain without being concerned about hitting some of >>More
Snowy Day in the Adirondacks
The northern Adirondacks were hit with more snow the past few days, continuing what has been a snowy March. The fairly deep snowpack means that skiing is great in many places in the northern Adirondacks right now. The Jackrabbit Trail is in great condition and all the crosscountry centers should be in good shape. The one thing skiers should be aware of that some steep, open slopes may be avalanche prone right now, according to the National Weather Service in Burlington. You can read a story about that by following the link below. Read more Avalanche warning issued for Adirondacks >>More
Avalanche Warning Issued For Adirondacks
The National Weather Service in Burlington has issued an avalanche warning for the Adirondacks as a result of recent weather patterns. “Recent heavy snowfall combined with previous warm ups have created the potential for avalanches in the exposed backcountry of the Green Mountains in Vermont and the Adirondacks in northern New York,” according to National Weather Service statement. “Several small avalanches have already been reported.” The High Peaks region has received one to two feet this past week. The weather service warned that “steep, open slopes will have the highest potential avalanche risk.” State Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman Dave >>More
Have you skied Old Mountain Road?
Old Mountain Road in the Sentinel Range Wilderness is known as a popular section of the Jackrabbit Ski Trail during the winter months. But since 2003, it has also been the center of a controversy over whether it’s also legally a town road. Most recently, a state court ruled that the ski trail has retained its status as a town road because it was never legally abandoned. That ruling took place on March 1. The next day, with snow falling, Explorer Editor Phil Brown and I visited the road to shoot some photos and a video to give readers an >>More
When the skiing was good …
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.
