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winter sports

Catskills Ski Resorts’ Early History

February 14, 2023 by John Conway 1 Comment

A promotional postcard for the ski area at the Concord Hotel in Kiamesha Lake, Sullivan County, NYThe history the Catskills as a winter sports destination dates back to at least the 1920s, but the attempt to create a year around vacationland did not meet with immediate success. In fact, some spectacular showings at a few of the hotels over the ensuing years notwithstanding, the effort was still largely hit or miss well into the 1950s.

Grossinger’s had entertained more than 850 guests over the Christmas-New Year holidays in 1929, and had its largest weekend ever up until that time, winter or summer, on Washington’s Birthday weekend in 1941, but no hotel – not even Grossinger’s – was able to do that kind of winter business on a regular basis. [Read more…] about Catskills Ski Resorts’ Early History

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Recreation Tagged With: Catskills, Fallsburg, ice skating, Liberty, skiing, Sullivan County, Thompson, winter sports

Peter Bauer: It’s Time To Pass A Constitutional Amendment For Mount Van Hoevenberg

March 29, 2022 by Peter Bauer 1 Comment

Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports ComplexProtect the Adirondacks supports a proposed Article 14 Constitutional Amendment for the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex outside Lake Placid.

At the Mt. Van Hoevenberg complex, the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) currently manages around 1,220 acres of Forest Preserve classified as Intensive Use by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). Abutting these lands is 319 acres of land owned by the Town of North Elba. Together this complex houses the Olympic bobsled and luge track, cross-country skiing and biathlon trails, and associated facilities, with most of the intensive buildings and facilities located on the town lands. [Read more…] about Peter Bauer: It’s Time To Pass A Constitutional Amendment For Mount Van Hoevenberg

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, APA, Article 14, Cross-Country Skiing, development, Essex County, Forest Preserve, Lake Placid, Mt Van Hoevenberg, nature, North Elba, NYS Constitution, ORDA, Protect the Adirondacks, skiing, winter sports

A History of Snowmobile Racing in New York State

January 20, 2022 by John Warren 3 Comments

early Adirondack snowmobile raceIn the motor toboggan era – the time before the advent of the modern snowmobiles we know today – motor sleds had been too slow for racing excitement. As a result they remained strictly utilitarian vehicles racing only occasionally for promotional purposes. Motor toboggan and later snowmobile maker Polaris traveled each year at the end of the 1950s to trapper festivals at The Pas, Manitoba where they helped organize ad hoc races.

“We tried to rig them a little bit so we had a zig-zag effect,” David Johnson said, remembering one of the first informal races, “one guy ahead, and then the other, and so on, at a terrific speed of about 20 miles per hour.” In February 1959, Johnson won the first organized men’s race on an oval at The Pas and in 1960, the first cross-country race was held there. [Read more…] about A History of Snowmobile Racing in New York State

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Park, Adirondacks, Boonville, Canada, Cranberry Lake, Essex County, Franklin County, Hamilton County, Herkimer COunty, Lake George, Lake Placid, malone, Old Forge, Oneida County, Saranac Lake, Saratoga County, Snowmobile History, snowmobiling, sports, Sports History, St Lawrence County, Town of Webb, Transportation History, Tupper Lake, Warren County, winter, winter sports

Winter In the Catskills: The Columbia Ski Resort

January 16, 2022 by John Conway 1 Comment

early 1960s photo advertising the ski hill at the Columbia Hotel in HurleyvilleIt is unlikely that when he built the hotel with the spectacular vistas in 1891 John Harms Knapp envisioned it ever being a year-around resort, let alone one that advertised “superlative skiing,” and yet that is exactly what the Columbia Hotel in Hurleyville in the Catskills became in the early 1960s.

And of all the ski areas in Sullivan County — from Glen Hill to Christmas Hills — the Columbia’s was among the most successful, albeit for a relatively short time. [Read more…] about Winter In the Catskills: The Columbia Ski Resort

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills, Recreation Tagged With: Catskills, skiing, Sullivan County, winter, winter sports

Adirondack Avalanche Warning, Adirondak Loj, Information Center Closed

February 16, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Avalanche anatomy illustration courtesy T3 AdventuresNew 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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Recreation Tagged With: backcountry skiing, DEC, High Peaks, skiing, snowboarding, winter, winter sports

The Borscht Belt in Winter: Catskills Winter Resorts

February 6, 2021 by John Conway Leave a Comment

toboggan run was at the Laurels in Sackett Lake.Although the number of Sullivan County hotels open during the winter months increased significantly beginning in the 1940s, there were attempts to market the county as a winter resort long before that. [Read more…] about The Borscht Belt in Winter: Catskills Winter Resorts

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Recreation Tagged With: skiing, Sullivan County, weather, winter, winter sports

Featured Trail: Foxy Brown XC Trail In Jessup River Wild Forest

January 22, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Piseco Airport map courtesy Adirondack AtlasThe Foxy Brown X-Country Ski Trail is a 5.6-mile trail located within the Jessup River Wild Forest, in Piseco (in the town of Arietta, Hamilton County).

After traveling along the Piseco Airport runway, the trail routes users primarily through over a newly built bridge across a muddy bog and northern hardwood forest. To complete a loop, users will follow the trail just north of the runway and should be sure to check for oncoming aircraft before traveling back to the trailhead and parking area. [Read more…] about Featured Trail: Foxy Brown XC Trail In Jessup River Wild Forest

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Recreation Tagged With: Arietta, Cross-Country Skiing, DEC, Hamilton County, hiking, Jessup River Wild Forest, nature, Piseco, skiing, Trails Less Traveled, winter sports

Snowmaking Has Begun At Whiteface Mountain

November 17, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Snowmaking at Whiteface courtesy ORDAWhiteface Mountain in Wilmington has turned on the snow guns today, Tuesday, November 17th.

Crews have begun snowmaking at Mid-Station on Upper Valley, Lower Valley and Fox Trails. Plans are to continue snowmaking efforts through Wednesday evening as temperatures allow. [Read more…] about Snowmaking Has Begun At Whiteface Mountain

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Recreation Tagged With: skiing, snowboarding, Whiteface, Wilmington, winter sports

Empire State Winter Games Cancelled

October 20, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Empire State Winter Games logoThe 41st Annual Empire State Winter Games, originally scheduled for January 28 – 31, 2021, have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [Read more…] about Empire State Winter Games Cancelled

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Events, Recreation Tagged With: Empire State Winter Games, skiing, snowboarding, winter, winter sports

40 Years After An Olympic Miracle

March 1, 2020 by Devin Lander Leave a Comment

a new york minute in history podcastThis episode of A New York Minute in History recalls the “Miracle on Ice,” when the U.S. Men’s Hockey team upset the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. [Read more…] about 40 Years After An Olympic Miracle

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Lake Placid, Olympic History, Podcasts, sports, Sports History, winter sports

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