The Backcountry Blog

OK Slip Falls Hike and Raft

Posted on by MattyCs_Winter

I recently moved to Brooklyn from Connecticut. It was a big life change and in the process, I missed the chance to do something special with my mom on Mothers Day. This past weekend, I rectified that, telling her we were going to see a secret wonder upstate.

Swamp

We headed up together on Saturday to the central Adirondacks. After a beautiful drive up the Taconic Parkway we made our way to North Creek, NY. We pulled in to the center of town at around 6pm and headed down past the oversized blue Adirondack chair to check in with our rafting company.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Backcountry, Rafting5 Comments

Interview: Skiing the Catskill 3500

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

It was purely by chance that I heard about Jamie and Doug Kennard’s recent feat. While searching for a ski touring partner in the Catskills, I was answered with a question: “Did you hear the news?”

backcountry skiing the Catskill 3500

He had to repeat it. Climbing the Catskill 3500 peaks is an accomplishment I’ve long held in very high esteem. To ski them all, that would take more than a few long days and serious dedication to the fickle nature of the Eastern Backcountry. Perhaps that’s the reason that, as far as anyone could tell, this was the first time anyone had ever done it.

What could be sweeter than being the first to do something that was hiding in plain sight of millions? What follows is our interview with the adventurers. (– ml242)

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Tagged: Backcountry, Catskills, Interviews11 Comments

Wide Waxless Backcountry Skis

Posted on by Harvey

It’s funny how a piece of equipment can change the way you think about a sport. Skiers in the forum are excited about wide waxless backcountry skis for powder in rolling terrain. In theory, I got it.

backcountry ski boots

But then I was in the Garnet Hill Ski Shop in North River NY, and actually saw for the first time, in real life, the Scarpa T4s pictured above. I’ve seen that photo many times, but had never seen them for real, in the plastic.

Because they don’t have thermo-moldable liners you can try them on and see how they fit.  I’m a 27.5 Mondo and the shop had multiple pairs in my size and other average mens sizes. Adam the ski shop guy said “they’re tight as hell getting your foot in but if that is your size they’ll feel great when they are on.” He was right.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Backcountry, Powder, Ski Gear12 Comments