Cross-Country World Cup Finals in Lake Placid

“This is a proper ski race,” one British athlete said to me in the mixed zone.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” my editor warned me.

And I got two scoops this week! I’m almost a real reporter! We’ll get to that later.

As we approached the World Cup finals weekend in Lake Placid, Nordic Insights, another news outlet I write for, made plans to cover the action. Being local, I’d be boots on the ground all weekend. My colleague Adele would come from Yale University on Saturday. I’d write up all the men’s races. Adele and Gavin, my editor, would write the women’s races.

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Mount van Hoevenberg Singletrack Hike

Sunday before Memorial Day. The 400th consecutive cloudy day in the Adirondacks. At least it wasn’t raining. I paused construction on the ark for a trip to the happiest place on earth, Mount van Hoevenberg.

intersection of 3 trails
3 Trails intersection

While I’ve put in my share of mileage on the Ho’s ski trails, the singletrack is a mystery. I think that most of these were originally snowshoe trails linking various ski trails. At some point, many of them were cleaned up and manicured for summer cycling.

Last summer, I had a day where I incorporated a bit of singletrack on the cross country side into my run.

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Lake Placid Loppet: The Forecast Called for Pain

I haven’t blogged much for NYSB this year. Skiing at Mt van Hoevenberg on 1 December, I crashed hard when Pumphouse Road turned from groomed powder into a rock garden. A torn acromioclavicular ligament put me outta commission. When I returned to skiing, it was decent early season conditions. No one wants to hear “It’s thin, but really good” when downhill writers are contributing stories with epic powder shots.

Lake Placid Loppet

Early on, the big storms were missing us in Saranac Lake. Gradually, conditions improved in the Tri-Lakes. Three inches here, three inches there, and pretty soon you’re skiing in good conditions. By the time the Lake Placid Loppet rolled around, we had serious midwinter conditions.

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