Royal Mountain: Roll Out the Red Carpet

Royal Mountain may look like a ski slope, but for those who know, it’s more of an establishment. Like so many locally owned ski resorts it’s an integral part of the community. Its walls are adorned with plaques, posters and trinkets of its people and past. It’s all part of the rich history the resort is steeped in going back to its inception in 1955.

Royal Mountain memory wall

Three owners laters, and following the footsteps of the famous Jim Blaise, the Tennis’s are blazing a new trail forward, literally and figuratively. I found Brooke and Jake Tennis behind the ticket desk shortly after opening on Saturday. She was slinging tickets and he was giving an operations update.

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Paul Smiths: Cruising the VIC

Saturday: band rehearsal in Sea Girt, NJ. After a productive session with my most excellent bandmates, I loaded the Fortunate Son and returned north. Driving at Warp Factor 4, I made it to Saranac Lake by 9:30 PM.

Heron Marsh

When I finally arrived home, I was fried. For most of my life, I’ve reckoned drive times north starting from Morris County NJ. I could tell you when I’d arrive in Lake Placid, or Craftsbury, or Woodford, within 10 minutes’ accuracy. Departing Ocean County is a whole other ball of wax.

Sunday morning, drinking coffee, bleary eyed and listening to WFMU with a cat in my lap, I considered my options. Gym? Ski? Chill?

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The Backside of Big Tupper

Late Sunday night, I returned to Saranac Lake from band rehearsal in NJ. As I passed through Schroon Lake it began to snow. The last 40 miles, the roads were covered with snow. The last three blocks, all uphill, hadn’t yet been plowed. I bulled my way into my driveway. Let’s hear it for studded snow tires and a digital transfer case.

Route 86

Four more inches of snow on Monday night. Dewey Mountain, my new local, was open. But the urge to ski in Tupper Lake was irresistible.

Twelve or 15 years ago, in one of the worst snow droughts can remember, one of the only races I skied was the Lumberjack Scramble in Tupper Lake.

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