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.

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.

All I remember is that I used blue klister and that the race route was beautiful. Yesterday, I loaded the car and drove west as snow came down.

Through falling snow, I drove through the center of Tupper Lake, and followed the signs for Big Tupper. Hang a left on to Country Club Road. The sign at the intersection has the somewhat unwieldy name James C. Frenette Sr. Ski Trails. A municipal golf course in the summer, it becomes a skiing, snowshoeing, and fat bike center in the winter.

If you’re older than dirt of a certain age, your parents may have bought you ice cream from the Good Humor truck in the summer. And you might have used a wooden spoon to enjoy it. Those wooden spoons were manufactured by the defunct Oval Wood Dish Company, on whose lands the ski trails are situated.

I booted up in the warming hut. Stuffing a trail map into my pocket, I clipped into my classic skis and set out on the Golf Course Trail. You’re not actually skiing on the golf course, but in the woods adjacent. After a steady diet of the World Cup trails at Mount van Hoevenberg, Tupper Lake was a mellow, welcome change.

Turning on to Cranberry Pond, I kept skiing out, away from the trailhead. I recognized one climb that I’d had to herringbone during that race, but not much else. I skied through a mix of hardwoods and evergreens as I turned on to the Little Logger loop.

Little Logger is as remote as it gets here. To my left was a steep hillside. After a couple of kilometers, I ran in to the intersection with Ski Tow Road. This would take me to the base of the dormant Big Tupper. I was curious, but it hadn’t been groomed. I was on skinny race skis, and the hour was getting late.

Taking a hard right turn, I dropped in on one of the few big downhills and zipped back towards Cranberry Pond. I eventually ended up skiing alongside the eponymous pond. At the race 15 years ago, this section had thin coverage and views of Big Tupper. Today, visibility was too bad, you just accepted the Big Tupper was over there somewhere.

When I arrived back at the trail head, after school ski club was in full swing. Kids swarmed the warming hut, I changed out of ski boots in my car. On Route 30, Trails End Tavern beckoned, but it was still snowing and the roads weren’t in good shape. I drove back to Saranac Lake to a warm house and a furry cat.

The Frenette trail system isn’t big, but it’s really beautiful and a good alternative when you want an easy day. Bring your lunch, as there’s no food service. Or stop in to one of the many restaurants in town.