Winter just doesn’t want to happen this year. We get a little good snow for skiing and then it rains on top. This makes a hard crust and [doesn’t allow for] much control on cross-country skis unless you have steel edges, as some do. I never had any, mine are just no wax, but I still rub a candle on mine. I once went up for in-service training at Whiteface Mountain for telemark training. I only had one pair of skis, the same pair I still have with no edges and toe bindings.
On November 17, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the start of the 2022-23 Alpine and Nordic skiing seasons with the opening of several Olympic Regional Development Authority-operated ski venues. The venues – which include Gore Mountain in North Creek, Belleayre Mount in Highmount, Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, and Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid – opened this month following investments in upgrades, renovations, and snowmaking infrastructure ahead of the winter season. In addition to supporting New York’s $16 billion winter tourism industry, these improvements will support the upcoming Lake Placid 2023 FISU Winter World University Games, which will take place from January 12 to 22, 2023.
Recent NYS DEC Forest Ranger actions:
Town of Clifton
St. Lawrence County
Wilderness Search: On June 3 at 6:05 p.m., Forest Ranger Morehouse received a call from staff at the Wanakena Ranger School reporting a student lost in the woods. Two Forest Rangers responded to assist Ranger School staff who were able to locate the missing 30-year-old student from Marcellus by using cell phone coordinates. Rangers helped her use her compass to find her way out of the woods and the incident concluded by 8 p.m.
The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Ray Brook is investigating a fatal skiing accident that occurred on Whiteface Mountain on Monday, December 23, 2019.
According to police, Nicholas Koch, age 21, from Danville, Pennsylvania, was visiting at Whiteface with family. On December 23, 2019, at approximately 12:30 pm, Koch was descending Lower Northway Trail on skis when he exited the trail and struck a group of trees. » Continue Reading.
There is 4-8 inches of snow across most of the Adirondacks, with deeper snows – about 6-10 inches – across the Northern Adirondacks, and at higher elevations in the High Peaks, and nordic, downhill and some backcountry skiing has begun around the region.
Whiteface Mountain, in Wilmington, and Gore Mountain, in North Creek opened for the 2019-’20 season on Friday. They will remain open through the weekend, but may close during the week until Friday after Thanksgiving. Both mountains have begun using direct-to-lift radio-frequency identification (RFID) for Ski 3 Card holders. There’s a new cabin at the summit of Burnt Ridge Mountain at Gore. » Continue Reading.
Autumn is one of the busiest times of year in the Adirondack Mountains. Families and guests visit the region from throughout the Northeast and around the world to enjoy the fall foliage.
In anticipation of what is expected to be an unprecedented visitor-ship to the Adirondack High Peaks now through Columbus Day, a new free shuttle service is offering to take hikers to six nearby family-friendly hiking trails. » Continue Reading.
I am thankfully every day that my children are healthy. It is something I never take for granted. Though neither of my kids have ever been seriously sick, we all saw our young cousin’s struggle with stage 4 cancer. I’m not going to dwell on the devastating effects this type of diagnose has on any family, but I will mention that any moments of joy woven through those trips to the hospital and countless mental treatments lifted spirits. It’s those moments of happiness when children have the chance to remember they are still children.
I was thrilled to read that World Cup Alpine Skier and Winter Olympian Andrew Weibrecht has been a trustee for the Northeast section of Make-A-Wish Foundation. » Continue Reading.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the Adirondack backcountry.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.
New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) managed ski resorts – Whiteface Mountain, Wilmington; Gore Mountain, North Creek; and Belleayre Mountain, Highmount – have all begun snowmaking operations in anticipation of their season openings, Saturday, November 17th, 2018 – weather and conditions permitting. » Continue Reading.
The Bear Den Mountain Trail in the Whiteface Mountain Intensive Use Area, Wilmington Wild Forest ascends 1.6 miles and 1,160 feet from a trailhead near the parking area for Kids Campus of the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area to the 2,400-foot summit of Bear Den Mountain. » Continue Reading.
The 27th Annual Whiteface Mountain Oktoberfest is set for this weekend, Sept. 22-23.
Oktoberfest is a way to celebrate the beginning of the autumn season and the winter season ahead with tall mugs of beer and festival fun for the entire family. Events will run Saturday from 11 am to 7 pm, and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) has announced they are now accepting public comment for a proposed amendment to the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center Unit Management Plan.
Highlights of proposed changes include new intermediate downhill ski trails, widening of some existing trails, an extension and replacement of the existing Bear Lift and a replacement and realignment of the existing Freeway Lift. The plan also addresses parking needs, improvements for vehicular and pedestrian access to base areas and mountain biking trails. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Ray Brook, NY on Thursday, March 8th, 2018.
The meeting will address proposed amendments to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (including changes to the Travel Corridor definition), Invasive Species management, and proposed actions involving Gore and Whiteface Mountains. The Public Awareness Committee will hear a presentation on the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, and the Regulatory Programs Committee will be briefed on revisions to the Variance and Large-Scale Subdivision Applications.
What follows is the agenda issued by the APA: » Continue Reading.
The International University Sports Federation has selected Lake Placid as the site for the 2023 Winter World University Games. Delegates from the Adirondack North Country Global Sports Committee and FISU signed a memorandum of understanding at the FISU headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland last week after nearly a year and a half of negotiations.
This will be the second time Lake Placid has hosted the Games (the first time was in 1972) and the third time New York State has hosted (Buffalo hosted in 1993). The Games have never been hosted by another state in the U.S. » Continue Reading.
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It’s debatable: Whiteface redesigns
Editor’s note: This first appeared in the May/June 2022 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine. In this regular column, we invite organizations and/or individuals to address a particular issue. Click here to subscribe to the magazine, available in both print and digital formats: www.adirondackexplorer.org/subscribe.
The question: Should ORDA reshape Whiteface?
» Continue Reading.