Skiing The Mount Marcy Trail
By Phil Brown
April 5, 2017
We made this short video on April 3, 2017, on a ski descent of Mount Marcy. This is a fun cruise along Phelps Brook. It’s pretty mellow, but watch out for rocks!
Tags Results:
backcountry skiing
Adirondack Spring Skiing On Bloomingdale Bog Trail
By Phil Brown
March 30, 2017
We lost much our snow base around Saranac Lake in recent weeks. For my lunch-hour ski on Thursday, I was rattling my brain for a smooth trail or frozen pond, someplace where you can ski without a lot of snow. I settled on the Bloomingdale Bog Trail, which starts a few miles north of the…
Adirondack Pond Skiing After A Bitter Cold Night
By Phil Brown
March 24, 2017
When I got up Thursday morning, my weather app claimed it was 18 degrees below zero in Saranac Lake. Though skeptical, I’ll concede that it was damn cold when I stepped outside. I had to drive to Malone to look over court documents filed in the lawsuit over the state’s plan to split the state-owned…
Dog-Poop Problem At Lake Placid’s Henry’s Woods
By Phil Brown
March 21, 2017
Henry’s Woods on the outskirts of Lake Placid is a popular destination for hikers even in winter. I stopped there Tuesday afternoon for a lunch-hour ski trip, figuring the trails would be well packed and slick. Indeed, since the big snowstorm last week, the trails have seen a lot of use from skiers, snowshoers, and…
Skiing Mt. Marcy In Five Minutes
By Phil Brown
February 28, 2017
I had hoped to ski Mount Marcy last week, but work and travel got in the way. I expect we’ll have other chances before the winter ends. Meantime, I put together a five-minute video of a Marcy ski trip from a few years ago. It contains snippets shot with a helmet cam while descending…
Dreaming Of Skiing Mount Marcy Again
By Phil Brown
February 20, 2017
Last week we enjoyed the best backcountry-ski conditions we’ve had in a while. I am using the editorial we; I didn’t enjoy them because I was sick all week. By Saturday, I was feeling good enough to venture out to Dewey Mountain for a few hours, where my girlfriend Carol and I explored the ungroomed trails near…
A Frustrating Winter For Backcountry Skiers
By Phil Brown
January 19, 2017
It’s been another frustrating winter for backcountry skiers. We haven’t had a big storm. Just as the snow starts to build up, we’re hit with a rainy thaw. That was the case again this week. Following an icy rain, we got a few inches of heavy, wet snow in Saranac Lake. This afternoon I skied…
Powder Play In The Five Ponds Wilderness
By Phil Brown
January 9, 2017
I have not been delighted with the skiing conditions in the Lake Placid area this winter. There is decent snow, especially at higher elevations, but we haven’t had a big storm. As a result, rocky trails at lower elevations often lack adequate cover. And so last weekend I found myself driving west in search of…
The Powder Is Gone, But We Still Have A Good Base
By Phil Brown
December 19, 2016
On Saturday, my girlfriend Carol and I skied up the unplowed Whiteface Veterans Memorial Highway. From the tollbooth to the end of the road it’s a 5.4-mile climb, long but not very steep. It took us roughly three hours. Of course, the descent is the fun part. It normally takes less than an hour. Because…
Yes, It’s April, But Don’t Put Away Skis Yet
By Phil Brown
April 1, 2015
It may be April, but there’s still skiing to be had in the backcountry. On Tuesday morning I skied to the top of Dewey Mountain outside Saranac Lake and enjoyed a fun run down in virtually midwinter conditions. Last weekend, Carol MacKinnon Fox and I skied over the summit of Mount Van Hoevenberg and found…