A ‘3-helmet day’ of biking, climbing and skiing in spring in the Adirondacks

Taking on a mud season ‘nano-triathlon’ and squeezing in one last ski

As I shuffled uphill on skis, I spied a deer grazing on the grassy slope above. It stared at me as if wondering, “What is that nut doing?” In a rare moment of interspecies simpatico, I was thinking the same thing. Really, isn’t winter done?

That’s how my day ended. 

It had started normally. Granola for breakfast, get on the laptop, pretend I’m working. It was past 10 when I checked the forecast. Though the temperature had fallen below freezing overnight, it looked like a warm day ahead. And then it struck me: this could be a three-helmet day.

Such days can occur in mud season when there’s still enough snow to ski somewhere, yet the mountain-bike trails and cliffs have dried out (at least some of them).

So I made a hasty plan to mountain-bike in Wilmington, climb Chapel Pond Slab near St. Huberts, and ski at Mount Pisgah in Saranac Lake.

You could think of it as a mini-triathlon, but it was more of a nano-triathlon. Three small adventures crammed into six hours, with lots of driving in between. No glory, just a zany day in mid-April in the Adirondacks.

The bike ride

Before leaving home, I checked the website of the Barkeater Trails Alliance, which maintains most of the single-track in the region. Most of the bike trails remained too muddy to ride, but not the Three Sisters Trail in Wilmington–one of my favorites.

Three Sisters ascends more than a mile, but don’t let that scare you away. The long, looping switchbacks ensure that the climbing never gets too strenuous. In fact, the trail gets a novice rating.

I arrived at the trailhead on Hardy Road just before noon. I donned my my bike helmet and began pedaling uphill on the trail, which was bone dry. Within a half-mile, I passed a large white pine with three trunks–the Three Sisters. At 0.90 miles, I came to a junction with an educational sign telling of the area’s logging history.

Though I was almost at the end of Three Sisters, I decided to turn right onto Noreen’s Trail to get some extra mileage. I descended a half-mile to a gravel road, where I met Glenn Glover, BETA’s executive director, and Dusty Grant, head of BETA’s trail crew. They had been scouting a possible reroute of Noreen’s.

After a friendly chat, I thanked them for their work and rode back up Noreen’s. Upon reaching the junction again, I turned right onto Three Sisters and followed it to the end at Quaker Mountain Road.

Now the fun began. I spun my bike around and enjoyed a 1.2-mile descent, swooping around one bend after another. A moderate climb and an exhilarating downhill–it’s no wonder that Three Sisters is one of the most popular of the Hardy Road trails. On my way down, I passed seven bikers on their way up.

The rock climb

The bike ride took less than an hour. Now I had to drive 20 miles to Chapel Pond Slab. On the way, I wondered if it would be safe to climb this early in the year. Would all the snow and ice be gone? Would the rock be dry?

At 1:15 p.m., I parked the car across the road from the slab. I could see water running down the middle of the cliff, but Regular Route, to the right, appeared dry. In fact, I spotted a roped party partway up the route.

I put on my rock-climbing helmet, crossed the road, and walked through the woods and across a swath of snow to the base. My climbing shoes were in a small pack, but I started upward in my approach shoes (low-cut hikers with sticky soles). 

Regular Route is one of the most popular easy climbs in the Adirondacks. The guidebook “Adirondack Rock” awards it the maximum five stars. I have soloed it countless times, and so I didn’t feel the need for a rope or a partner on this day. Or even climbing shoes, for I ended up leaving them in the pack.

After following a right-rising dike, I climbed low-angle slab over a couple of bulges to a hand crack that led to the Twin Cracks Belay, a position halfway up the cliff. This is where I encountered Tommy and Max, two cheerful climbers from Montreal. They seemed to be having a great time. I asked if they knew how to find their way down from the top of the slab, for visitors often get lost on the descent. They assured me that they did and offered to let me pass.

In a few minutes, I reached the crux of the route: a steep wall below a wide terrace. It’s often wet, so I was relieved to find the wall dry. With the help of a couple of solid finger cracks, I pulled myself onto the terrace and then climbed two easier pitches to the top of Bob’s Knob–named for Bob Notman, a summer resident of Keene Valley who was one of the area’s early climbers. 

On the descent through the woods, I encountered snow and ice, which slowed me up, though not greatly. I got back to the car at 2:45 p.m. Plenty of time left to ski.

The skiing

The drive back to my home in Saranac Lake took 45 minutes. I needed to pick up my skis–and helmet, of course–before heading to Mount Pisgah, a small downhill area owned by the village. Although Pisgah had closed for the season, I figured there would be enough snow left to get in a few laps.

When I pulled into the lot, I was disappointed to see a lot more brown grass than white stuff on the slopes. Nope, no diehard skiers on this day. There was one other car, though, and two men walked toward it. Lo and behold, it was Glenn and Dusty!

BETA also has created mountain-bike trails here. One of this year’s projects is to create a climbing trail from Park Avenue to Pisgah, providing a safer route for bikers to access the mountain. Glenn and Dusty had been scouting the route.

We had another friendly chat. I told them about my three-helmet ambition. They didn’t react like I was crazy, but looking at the grassy hill, I had my doubts. To make things worse, a light rain started to fall. After Glenn and Dusty left, I wondered if I should go too.

Nah. I’m here; let’s do it. The main slope–snow intermixed with grass–did not look enticing. However, there was 200 to 300 feet of continuous snow on the tubing hill. Stepping into my backcountry skis, I shuffled to the top. The snow was soft, and on the descent, I made several easy turns. 

You know, it was rather fun. I ended up doing 10 laps. 

Mission completed, I took one last look at the slope. The deer had gone. It probably wouldn’t see another skier for seven or eight months.

Yes, winter was over, but spring was just beginning.

Photo at top by Phil Brown