The Backcountry Blog

Balm of Gilead Mountain Cliffs, NY

Posted on by Harvey

I’ve wanted to post about the cliffs on Balm of Gilead Mountain for quite a while now. We hike up to the outcrop regularly, but I never seem to get pictures that represent the true beauty of the view.

Balm of Gilead Mountain sign

My last walk was no different, except this time I’m posting.

For me the hike starts from the Garnet Hill Lodge Ski Center in North River, NY. It’s not an official trailhead, but it’s probably ok to park here in the summer when lodge demand for parking is lower than it is in winter.  If you’d like to use this access point, I’d recommend asking for permission in the ski shop or in the lodge.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Backcountry, Hiking, Siamese Ponds Wilderness3 Comments

Backcountry Skiing on State Land

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

New York’s acquisition of Lyon Mountain has spurred yet another land use debate in the Adirondacks. Like many other discussions of this nature, the conflict is between established traditional uses of the land and the letter of the law as written into the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.

Backcountry Skiing in New York State
Ron Konowitz on Saddleback by Rachel Wood

For years backcountry skiers have maintained and skied glades on Lyon Mountain, but initial indications are that the DEC may choose to take a hard line regarding this practice. According to a recent article by Adirondack Almanack, Tom Martin, the DEC’s regional forester considers glade maintenance on Lyon Mountain illegal and stated “it may violate Article 14 of the state constitution.”

Lyon Mountain is now classified as Wild Forest. According to the DEC “Wild forest areas are managed to provide opportunities for a greater variety of recreational activities and a higher intensity of recreational use.” Beyond this broad definition, there is precedent for an interpretation of the law that would deem glade skiing a compatible use of the Forest Preserve.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Backcountry8 Comments

Mount Washington Season Finale

Posted on by ml242

During the ski season I’ve said it often: “You don’t know ’til you go.” But last week — after Memorial Day and before the first heat wave of the summer season — wasn’t one of those times.

Mount-Washington

Not exactly. You see, I’d been watching the weather closely and was really optimistic about the skiing on Mount Washington. The Memorial Day snowfall closed the auto road on Saturday and reduced skier traffic in the ravine to those willing to come up via the trail. But snow conditions were only one part of my calculation.

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Tagged: Backcountry, Mt Washington, NH8 Comments