Russ LaChapelle: The Bard of Bearpen

I first crossed paths with Russ LaChapelle in the fall of 2010; though, like many people interested in New York ski history, I’d encountered him years earlier through his quirky, deeply personal website.

Jam-packed with information about vanished rope tows, forgotten slopes, and half-erased ski dreams, it was clearly the work of someone who cared more about getting the story right than making it look polished or easily navigable (as much as was possible with internet technology back then).

Russ LaChapelle
Russ LaChapelle — photo ML242

When we finally connected on the phone, I explained the pitch I’d made to Harvey, editor of the nascent NYSkiBlog.

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Greek Peak: Back for the First Time

With all the excellent reports that have been posted here this season, my wife and I were hoping that our four-day trip to Syracuse might be a good opportunity to score some of the upstate powder we’d been seeing on TV.

A sobering weekend forecast took that off the table and while driving north from New Jersey under gloomy skies, it looked like we were lined up for one of those “at least we’re skiing” kind of days.

But almost on cue, our luck changed while crossing the state line into New York’s Southern Tier. The clouds parted, the sun came out, and by the time we pulled into Greek Peak around 10 am, it was pushing 40 degrees with deep blue skies above.

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Sterling Forest’s New Augusta Mine Trail

Over the last few years, it’s been interesting and enlightening to learn about people throughout the New York/New Jersey region who are constructing new mountain bike trails. Too often, we tend to take for granted that trails exist and don’t consider the amount of forethought, time, effort, and resources it takes to design and build them.

Sterling Forest Augusta Mine Trail

It’s been especially exciting to note the increase in mountain biking terrain along the state line, where riders at Ringwood State Park and Sterling Forest have been the happy recipients of excellent new trails. My friend Jason is a big fan of both and invites me along a few times a year.

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