Tags Results:
backcountry skiing
Park officials seek comments on backcountry ski trails
By Phil Brown
January 28, 2019
The APA proposes to adopt guidelines for three types of trails: ski touring trails, for rolling terrain; backcountry ski trails, for steeper terrain; and skin tracks, for accessing slides and other skiable terrain (often using climbing skins). Currently, few trails in the Adirondacks are designed for backcountry skiing.
Check the ice before skiing on ponds
By Phil Brown
December 31, 2018
All was not lost in recent thaws. We went pond skiing in the St. Regis Canoe Area three days last week and found the conditions ideal: a few inches of fluffy snow over solid ice. The carry trails between the ponds had just enough snow to ski.
Adirondack Park poised to allow wider ski trails
By Phil Brown
December 17, 2018
The Adirondack Park Agency has tentatively approved new criteria for ski trails intended to enhance the experience of backcountry skiers in the forest preserve.
Battle over Old Mountain Road may be settled
By Phil Brown
November 28, 2018
When Jim McCulley drove his snowmobile on Old Mountain Road in 2003, he touched off a series of court battles that lasted fifteen years. For now, at least, the legal saga appears to have ended.
DEC responds to backcountry skiers’ concerns
By Phil Brown
July 11, 2018
Backcountry skiers have long complained that state agencies have given them short shrift when it comes to accommodating their sport in the Forest Preserve. One major complaint is that years ago the state Department of Environmental Conservation transformed part of the Wright Peak Ski Trail into a hiking trail; the subsequent narrowing and eroding of…
DEC hopes to reroute Wright Peak Ski Trail
By Phil Brown
May 8, 2018
Several years ago we skied two High Peaks in spring with Ron Konowitz. We did a few laps in the bowl on Algonquin Peak, climbed over Wright Peak, and descended the Wright Peak Ski Trail. The Wright Peak trail is one of the few trails designed for down-mountain skiing in the Adirondacks. It was built…
Skiing Mount Marcy’s summit in a whiteout
By Phil Brown
March 30, 2018
I try to ski Mount Marcy every year around my birthday (March 30), and so I did the trip Thursday with Brian Mann of North Country Public Radio. It was the first time I skied the summit in a whiteout. The weather was mild and overcast when we started up the Van Hoevenberg Trail from…
Lost skier, injured hiker, snowmobile accidents
By Phil Brown
March 19, 2018
The latest Forest Rangers Report from the state Department of Environmental Conservation contains, among other items, accounts of three snowmobile accidents, a lost skier, and an injured hiker in the Adirondacks. Following is the report for March 12-18. Town of Indian Lake Hamilton County Rescue: On March 16 at 2:48 p.m., Central Dispatch received a…
Superb backcountry skiing near Lake Placid
By Phil Brown
March 12, 2018
Recent snowstorms dropped a foot or so of powder in much of the Adirondacks. Starting Friday, we skied three consecutive days in the backcountry. And on Monday, we hit up Dewey Mountain in Saranac Lake before reluctantly reporting for work. Needless to say, the backcountry skiing was pretty fantastic. The one word of caution is…