The Mountaineer in Keene Valley, is set to host the 17th Annual Adirondack Backcountry Ski Festival the weekend of March 15-17, 2019.

Backcountry skiing combines all of the elements of touring, climbing and downhill skiing into one winter mountaineering experience.

On Friday, join representatives from Mammut North America for a night of Q&A about Mammut snow safety products and avalanche awareness from 3:30 to 5:30 pm at The Mountaineer. Mammut will raffle off a probe and shovel package.

Demos and mini clinics will be held at Otis Mountain between Elizabethtown and New Russia on Saturday. Otis Mountain is a private ski area that provides a venue for testing the latest skis and boots from Adirondack Backcountry Ski Festival sponsors as well as clinics on skinning, telemark skiing, splitboarding and more.

Mammut will be on hand with an avalanche beacon practice park that is open to the public. Mini-clinics and equipment demos will be free of charge, and no registration is required. The mini-clinics and demos take place from 10 am to 3 pm.

Old Mountain Coffee will be on site all day with hot food and drink available for purchase. Otis Mountain is located off of Route 9 between Elizabethtown and New Russia, a 15 minute drive from Keene Valley.

An evening of Patagonia films Saturday is open to the public – doors open at 6:30 pm for the 7 pm show, and tickets are a suggested $5-10 donation with raffle tickets available for $5 each. Attendees are encouraged to bring a non-perishable donation to the Keene Food Pantry to Saturday evening’s presentation.

Guided backcountry ski tours for several ability levels are still available for a limited number of participants on Sunday, and Chuck Boyd will teach the Avalanche Safety and Companion Rescue course on Saturday, with a fieldwork component on Sunday. Advance registration for all guided tours and instructional clinics is required. Registration information is available here.

The Skifest is a benefit event, with proceeds supporting the New York State Ski Education Foundation’s Nordic racing programs and the Barkeater Trails Alliance, the backcountry ski trail stewards whose network of trails include the Jackrabbit Trail.

For more information, contact Dustin Ulrich at Dustin@mountaineer.com, or Charlie Wise at charlie@mountaineer.com.