Author: Peter Minde

Kickstart My Heart: New Trails at Mt Van Ho

Posted on by Peter Minde

Part 1: New Years

On New Year’s Eve, I drove to Lake Placid with the child for a short, socially distanced ski break. Lake Placid had only been brushed by the storm that dumped 30 inches elsewhere in the northeast. When we arrived Mt van Hoevenberg was operating on machine made snow on the new trail system designed in advance of the World University Games.

Biathlon Range

Everything at MVH is different this winter, and not just for the reasons you’d expect. I parked and walked to the towering new lodge. Part of the building is open, and construction is still underway. I collected my season pass and headed out.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Mount van Hoevenberg, Nordic Skiing6 Comments

Millbrook Mountain: The Nose Knows

Posted on by Peter Minde

Normally, on the weekend around my birthday, I’d be celebrating at the Climb to the Castle on the Whiteface Toll Road. The new normal has changed all that, but I still wanted to get outside.

Minnewaska view

Unfortunately, at the end of running the Slide-Cornell-Wittenberg loop in the Catskills in late August, I fell and broke my right wrist. Driving home that night wasn’t fun: I had to reach across and select fifth gear left-handed.

I’ve got a few more weeks with this miserable cast. Anything steep that requires three-point contact isn’t happening: I can’t put pressure on my wrist. So when I returned to Lake Minnewaska, I was looking for something I hadn’t been on before.

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Tagged: Gunks, Hiking5 Comments

Adirondack Sojourn

Posted on by Peter Minde

Like most of us, my winter was cut short. Not sure about you, but you-know-what also blew up my summer plans. Whiteface Sky Race? Cancelled. App Gap rollerski race? Cancelled. I’d also wanted to run the Pemigewassett Loop, a legendary route in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. It just didn’t seem prudent.

River Road

In August, I was between jobs, and for the first time since March, I ventured beyond day trip distance for a much needed Adirondack respite.

The plan was to rollerski the Whiteface toll road on Saturday, and the following day, hike something I’d never been on.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, High Peaks, Hiking, Whiteface4 Comments