Skiing the Tupper Lake Triad (Video)

In the video above, Phil Brown skis the Tupper Lake Triad on a snowy March day earlier this year for an article that appears in the November/December issue of the Adirondack Explorer.

The skiing conditions that day were near perfect, as the powder covered all obstacles along the trail.

Normally hiked or snowshoed, the Tupper Lake Triad consists of three mountains: Coney, Goodman, and Arab.

Because the trails are hiking trails, they are narrow in sections and can be challenging where they are steep. The trails also require a significant amount of snow to cover rocks and roots on the trail.

In general, though, the grade on the trails is gradual. In addition, all of the mountains are under 2,600 feet. So doing all three in one day is a reasonable goal, especially for hikers.

People that complete all three get a patch, similar to the Saranac Lake Sixer Challenge. They don’t have to be done in one day.

The triad was founded in 2015 by Charlie Hoffer, with assistance of the Tupper Lake Rotary Club. As of early October, Hoffer had given out 3,600 summer patches, 623 winter patches, and 349 patches to dogs.

Hoffer told the Explorer that he knew of only one other person who had skied the entire triad.

Below are profiles of the mountains. The information is from TupperLake.com.

Meet the peaks

• Mount Arab
  A fire tower awaits those who make the moderately steep climb up this mountain.
  Distance, one way: 1 mile | Elevation: 2545 feet | Ascent: 764 feet
• Coney Mountain
  Enjoy superior views with little effort from Coney’s rocky summit.
  Distance, one way: 1.1 miles | Elevation: 2280 feet | Ascent: 548 feet
• Goodman Mountain
  This mountain, named after civil rights activist Andrew Goodman, has it all: History, wheelchair accessibility for the first quarter mile, and great views from the summit.
  Distance, one way: 1.7 miles | Elevation: 2178 feet | Ascent: 581 feet

Additional Photo Galleries

Skiing Goodman Mountain

Skiing Coney Mountain