The Adirondacks Blog

Skiing on Lincoln’s Birthday

Posted on by Brownski

I alway imagined Abraham Lincoln was a hot laps kind of guy. Midwest skiers have to make lemonade out of just about everything so pushing up the Mach numbers may have been Abe’s only option.

I also believe he’d approve of the way I celebrate his birthday — by skiing. I usually ski his birthday solo, out of necessity. Most people don’t get Lincoln’s birthday and Presidents’ Day off. When they were younger I would drop my kids at school and drive up to Mount Peter in Warwick.

Mount Peter on a midweek morning is like having your own personal ski hill. I was always able to rack up impressive vertical, considering how small the hill is. Including the skate from the top of the lift, chair time was most of my morning.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, West Mountain12 Comments

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

A New York Ski Journey

Posted on by Harvey

For reasons you might know, I hadn’t skied in nearly a month. I knew I was out of shape, but not sure how far. I wondered about my wind, would it be affected? It was time to figure it out, on my first trip, back in the game. On Friday morning, I headed north toward the snow.

Plattekill

I still have this feeling that I’m on borrowed time, like skiing could go away at any moment. Planning to ski four days in a row was a sign, I was going to push it. It had been snowing all week, and physically there was no reason I shouldn’t ski.

My doctor, a skier herself, told me to “take it easy.” I think we both knew that advice would be heeded, but only up to a certain point.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Catskills, Gore Mountain, Lake Effect, McCauley, Plattekill, Powder, Snow Ridge, Tug Hill27 Comments