Tag Archive for "Cross-Country Skiing" - The Adirondack Almanack

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Though the annual Lake Placid Loppet has been a huge part of winter sports for over 30 years, this is the first year that the premier cross-country ski marathon has coincided with a weekend Nordic festival. According to High Peaks Cyclery owner Brian Delaney the hope of this first Lake Placid Nordic Fest is to celebrate all aspects of Nordic skiing.

“We want to celebrate Nordic skiing on all levels,” says Delaney. “The schedule has a variety of events like ski waxing clinics, beginning cross-country instructional clinics and ski orienteering. We want these events leading up to the Loppet to appeal to all ages.” » Continue Reading.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Adirondack Full Moon Ski and Snowshoe Events

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There is always something magical about getting outside and skiing under a bright Adirondack full moon. Though it is certainly easy enough to visit any trail with a headlamp and proper gear, it is sometimes the camaraderie of an organized event that pulls everything together.

Most organized activities are family-friendly, but if you are in need of a night off from the kids give Cascade Ski Center a try. » Continue Reading.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Cross-Country Skiing Tips For This Weekend

It’s late January, but we’re still waiting for midwinter ski conditions. That said, you can find good skiing if you pick the right spots.

At lower elevations, you want to stick to smoother trails – such as former truck trails and old woods roads – as there might not be enough snow to cover big rocks and roots.

At higher elevations, this is less of a problem. Tony Goodwin reports on the Jackrabbit Trail website that there is 26 inches of snow at Lake Colden and three to four feet above the 4,000-foot contour. » Continue Reading.

Friday, January 16, 2015

DEC Opens Ski Trail Along Upper Hudson

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The state Department of Environmental Conservation has opened a new cross-country-ski trail on former Finch, Pruyn timberlands that takes you along the Goodnow and Hudson rivers in the town of Newcomb.

I skied the 4.2-mile loop trail on Wednesday afternoon with my neighbor, Tim Peartree, and we had a blast.

“I liked the variety, the ups and downs, the scenery. It’s a terrific trail,” Tim said after our trip.

The ski trip is possible thanks to the state’s purchase of lands in the Essex Chain Lakes region from the Nature Conservancy a few years ago. The conservancy had purchased the land from Finch, Pruyn & Company in 2007.

» Continue Reading.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Winter Weekends at Camp Santanoni

by Community News Reports

The popular open house ski weekends at Great Camp Santanoni have become an annual tradition. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), the Town of Newcomb, and the Adirondack Ecological Center have announced that historic Camp Santanoni will be open for three special weekends this winter. » Continue Reading.

Monday, December 29, 2014

New Owners For Lapland Lake Cross Country Center

by Community News Reports

Lapland Lake Nordic Vacation Center in Benson, NY, one of the Adirondacks’ premier cross country ski resorts for more than 36 years, has new owners. Kathryn and Paul Zahray, formerly of Matawan, NJ, and Lapland Lake customers for more than 17 years, have purchased the resort.

The new owners say they will seek to increase partnerships with local businesses and plan to continue the resort’s support of cross country ski racing at the secondary level. “Emphasis will be placed on enhancements such as the recently added Reindeer Rally program geared to introduce more youth to the sport of cross country skiing,” they said in an announcement to the press. » Continue Reading.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Book Review: ‘Adirondack Trail Skier’

After last week’s snowstorm, a lot of people got out to ski and or at least were prompted into thinking of skiing. Ah, but where to go?

For years, the bible for the region’s cross-country skiers has been Tony Goodwin’s Ski and Snowshoe Trails in the Adirondacks.

Now there’s another book on the market: Adirondack Trail Skier by Spencer Morrissey.

Morrissey self-published his guidebook in 2013, but I didn’t get a copy until late last winter, so I held off reviewing it until now. » Continue Reading.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Commentary: New Loppet Structure Is Off Course

by Guest Contributor

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This season’s Lake Placid Loppet Cross Country Ski Race has been scheduled for March 1, 2015. This year the Loppet is being relaunched by ORDA as the marquee event of The Lake Placid Nordic Festival (February 27 – March 1).

Entry fees have skyrocketed. Early registration, (and you better sit down for this) is $99! After Jan 1st it increases to $125. There are discounts for season pass holders, local clubs, and junior entries. And there is a added slate of events, parties, free clinics, discounts on rentals, etc. You can read about it here on the Loppet Page. Last year’s entry fees started at $60. So the $99 fee is an increase of 65%! Why the huge increase? » Continue Reading.

Monday, March 24, 2014

A Lucky Backcountry Ski Trip Near Irishtown

by Marty Plante

Better late than never. I had wanted to ski the Irishtown Trail on St. Patrick’s Day because, well, it just seemed appropriate. But as Robert Burns observed, the best laid schemes of mice and men don’t always go as planned. My trip was postponed by a few days, but the delay was a blessing in disguise, since the trail was now topped by a few inches of fresh dry powder from a post-St. Patty’s snow shower.

Starting on Route 28N, the trail traverses Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest for six miles, passing several ponds, and terminating at Irishtown. My goal, though, was to turn around at Stony Pond, a four-mile round trip that climbs about 700 feet. Beyond the pond, the trail is frequented by snowmobilers who access it from Irishtown, and skiers are advised not to compete with them for the trail. For a longer trip, a better option is to ski on the frozen surface of Stony Pond, circumnavigating its shoreline. » Continue Reading.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Siamese Ponds Wilderness: Skiing The Botheration Trail

by Marty Plante

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I had lots to do on Saturday, but just couldn’t say ‘no.’ The blue sky and 40 degree weather was too much of a siren call, so I grabbed my skis and headed to the Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area. This may be my last chance to ski for the season, so the errands will just have to wait.

The Siamese Ponds area is deservedly one of the most popular spots in the southern Adirondacks for backcountry skiing, containing routes for skiers of all abilities. My late start and the impending darkness meant that today’s choice would have to be short and fast, so I picked Botheration Pond as my destination. I started at the Old Farm Clearing parking lot, where skiers compete each weekend for the 30 or so parking spaces, but today there are only a few other cars. I won’t see any of their occupants though – for the next two hours, I’ll share the trails with only chickadees and an occasional squirrel. » Continue Reading.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Checking Out Ski Conditions After The Thaw

Last week’s rain and thaw bummed out backcountry skiers, but things could have been worse. We still have a solid base, but we could use several inches of powder on top of it.

Unfortunately, there are no sizable snowstorms in this week’s forecast. We got a dusting of snow last night, and we may get a total of an inch or so over the next few days. Small snow showers also are predicted later in the week.

The Adirondack Ski Touring Council is recommending that skiers stick to groomed trails until we get more snow. “The only exception is that it never warmed up all that much at the elevation of Lake Colden, so skiing there is still pretty good—just not so good getting there,” the council says on its website.

I went skiing both Saturday and Sunday to check out the post-thaw conditions.

» Continue Reading.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Cross-Country Skiing:
An Adirondack Nocturne at the Paul Smith’s VIC

by Sandra Hildreth

Nocturne: a work of art dealing with evening or night especially; a dreamy pensive composition for the piano that has a soft and somewhat sad melody. – 2014 Merriam Webster Dictionary

It was Valentine’s Day, about 8 pm, and I walked out the back door, stepped into my x-country ski bindings, put on my gloves and slipped my hands through the straps on my ski poles, flipped on my headlight and silently glided into the stillness of the night. As I looked up the trail, snowflakes filtered down glittering into the beam of my light.

It was the Full Moon Friends of the VIC Ski Party and this was the evening after the big Nor’easter dropped about 10 inches of fresh snow on what was already a good solid base. There was a nice crowd at the Paul Smith’s College VIC, live music by Split Rock lighting up the great room, but I might as well have been a solitary skier. I met two other skiers coming back to the building right as I started out, and then just two more as I skied across the floating bridge on Heron Marsh. The rest of the evening was mine alone, and it was magical. » Continue Reading.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Annual Dome Island Winter Ice Expedition

Though the recent fluctuation in temperature has not been conducive to cross-country skiing, it has allowed my family to explore some frozen Adirondack lakes and ponds.

Being able to access those frozen waterways during the winter is one of my family’s greatest joys. When the ponds are safe to cross, the ability to reach normally inaccessible shorelines opens up a different avenue for exploration. » Continue Reading.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Cock-A-Doodle Shoe Snowshoe Race Saturday