The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the reopening of the popular Avalanche Pass Trail in the High Peaks Wilderness Area in the Adirondack Park. In July 2025, intense rock and mud slides from Mount Colden swept across the width of the pass, making the trail unusable and temporarily flooded. DEC closed the trail, conducted an assessment of the damage, and began the trail work planning and approval processes to reopen Avalanche Pass. [Read more…] about Avalanche Pass Trail Reopens After Massive Landslide
backcountry skiing
Phil Brown Visits Jenkins Mountain Open Woods Ski Zone
What a winter it’s been for skiing in the Adirondack woods. With all this snow, it seems as though you can earn your turns just about anywhere. I took advantage of the conditions recently to check out the Jenkins Mountain Open Woods Ski Zone at the Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretive Center on land owned by Paul Smith’s College.
A few years ago, I had visited the area in autumn, before snowfall, and found that the ski trails blended so well with the surrounding forest that they were difficult to discern. That’s all well and good, but how do they ski? [Read more…] about Phil Brown Visits Jenkins Mountain Open Woods Ski Zone
Mt Marcy Skier, Catskills Peak-Bagger Rescued After All-Night Efforts
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.
This report of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers was prepared by DEC: [Read more…] about Mt Marcy Skier, Catskills Peak-Bagger Rescued After All-Night Efforts
State Acquires Easements on 1,200 Acres in Northern New York
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the acquisition of approximately 1,624 acres of conservation easement on lands in Northern New York from the Open Space Institute (OSI).
Approximately 1,414 acres were acquired through a conservation easement held by OSI on lands owned by Chazy Resource Management Inc. (CRMI) in Clinton County, while a 210-acre conservation easement in Essex County on lands owned by OSI was also purchased. [Read more…] about State Acquires Easements on 1,200 Acres in Northern New York
How The New Deal Helped Ignite Interest in American Skiing
Following the stock market crash of October 1929, an economic malady gripped the United States and much of the world, lasting several years. Loss of employment created excessive hardships, limiting even basic necessities of life.
The President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had previously been the two-term Governor of New York State, developed a composite plan to help citizens cope with the financial disaster and provide jobs, commonly known as “The New Deal.”
The ambitious program was multi-faceted, with one face being the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) established in 1933, where young men were organized into military style labor, housed in barracks at remote locations. [Read more…] about How The New Deal Helped Ignite Interest in American Skiing
New Plans For Important Hamilton Co Conservation Easements
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is seeking public input on the Draft Recreation Management Plan for recreational access within the Speculator Tree Farm, Perkins Clearing, and Burnham Mountain Tracts in the Adirondack Park in Hamilton County, New York.
The tracts already include 36 miles of snowmobile trails and roads, several trailheads and parking areas – including Route 30, old Route 8 and “military roads” built at the time of the War of 1812. [Read more…] about New Plans For Important Hamilton Co Conservation Easements
Rangers Rescue Lost Skiers, Respond to Snowmobile Accident
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.
This report of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers was prepared by DEC: [Read more…] about Rangers Rescue Lost Skiers, Respond to Snowmobile Accident
Cranberry Lake Purchase Connects Miles of Trails, Rivers and Trout Streams
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has acquired more than 965 acres along the Oswegatchie River that connects portions of the Cranberry Lake Wild Forest in the Adirondack Park with nearby conservation easements. [Read more…] about Cranberry Lake Purchase Connects Miles of Trails, Rivers and Trout Streams
Dangerous Conditions in the Adirondacks and Catskills
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is advising recreationists in the Adirondacks and Catskills of wet and dangerous conditions following recent mild temperatures and heavy rain from a storm Sunday and Monday, which killed at least one person and closed roads across Upstate New York. [Read more…] about Dangerous Conditions in the Adirondacks and Catskills
Jenkins Mountain Open Woods Ski Area Opening For Second Year
Paul Smiths Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC), Adirondack Wilderness Advocates (AWA), Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve, and the Adirondack Powder Skier Association have announced that the Jenkins Mountain Open Woods Ski Area in the Adirondack town of Brighton, Franklin County, NY, will be open to the public for backcountry skiing for a second full season, beginning in January 2024. [Read more…] about Jenkins Mountain Open Woods Ski Area Opening For Second Year
A Nordic Ski Adventure in Raquette Lake
With the return of winter and a decent snowpack in the Adirondack backcountry, this is the perfect time to explore a new trail or area that you have never experienced before.
For this outing I chose the Powerhouse and Cascades Trails in the Historic Great Camps Special Management Area, which is part of the Blue Ridge Wilderness located in Raquette Lake, in Hamilton County, NY. [Read more…] about A Nordic Ski Adventure in Raquette Lake
Avalanche Warning Issued For Adirondack Mountains
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has issued an avalanche warning, advising backcountry downhill skiers, snowboarders, and all outdoor adventurers who may traverse slides or steep, open terrain in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks to be aware of and prepared for avalanche conditions.
Several avalanches have been reported in the High Peaks over recent weeks. Forecast weather will exacerbate existing conditions, making them even more prone to sliding. [Read more…] about Avalanche Warning Issued For Adirondack Mountains
Recent Avalanches A Reminder That Adirondacks’ Avalanche Risk Is High
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has advised backcountry users in the Adirondacks, especially the High Peaks region, of potential avalanche risk following mild temperatures and high winds. Avalanche danger increases during thaws when warmer weather and rain melt existing snowpack and snow becomes increasingly unstable as it undergoes freeze/thaw cycles. [Read more…] about Recent Avalanches A Reminder That Adirondacks’ Avalanche Risk Is High
Avalanche Risk Increased in the Adirondacks
Backcountry downhill skiers, snowboarders, and all outdoor adventurers who may traverse slides or steep, open terrain in the Adirondacks should be aware of and prepared for avalanche conditions, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has advised today. [Read more…] about Avalanche Risk Increased in the Adirondacks
Adirondack Avalanche Warning, Adirondak Loj, Information Center Closed
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that backcountry downhill skiers, snowboarders, and others who may traverse slides or steep, open terrain in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks should be aware of and prepared for avalanche conditions.
The Adirondack Mountain Club has closed Adirondak Loj and the High Peaks Information Center, both at Heart Lake in the High Peaks, indefinitely over COVID concerns.
[Read more…] about Adirondack Avalanche Warning, Adirondak Loj, Information Center Closed
Gore Mountain’s Backwoods Ski Club: A Short History
There is an annual tradition near the end of every ski season at Gore Mountain – a party sponsored by the Backwoods Ski Club for the workers and volunteers who make the season happen.
The Club provides a dinner buffet and beverages, and Club members mingle and merge with the lift operators, ski patrol members, ski instructors, snow makers, groomers, maintenance workers, concession and food service workers, office staff, and those who are constantly working to clean up the mess. [Read more…] about Gore Mountain’s Backwoods Ski Club: A Short History
10th Mountain Division and Adirondack Ski History
Hal Burton. Arthur Draper. James Goodwin. These figures, each one an Adirondack legend, opened the area to winter skiing, from the backcountry ski trail on Wright Peak to the first downhill runs at Whiteface.
Not coincidentally, all three were members of the 10th Mountain Division, created in 1940 to provide the US Army with ski troops and soldiers who could fight an Alpine War.
The 10th would find glory in the Italian campaigns in the final months of World War II, as historian Maurice Isserman recounts in his new book, The Winter Army. [Read more…] about 10th Mountain Division and Adirondack Ski History