XC at Lapland Lake: 12/29/2013

These days I don't get the chance to do nearly as much groomed cross-country skiing as I'd like. So when our kids made plans to spend Sunday with the grandparents, Beth and I jumped on the chance to get in a skinny-ski workout. The only hitch, if you hadn't noticed, is the minimal snow cover we're currently experiencing throughout the Adirondacks. Mount Van Ho?... a 1K loop on manmade snow with a "rock ski advisory" for a few more K. Garnet Hill Lodge?... 15K with warnings of "variable conditions and icy patches."

Lapland Lake reported in with good skiing on 34K, just about their entire trail system. I knew from experience that I could rely on Lapland's impeccable grooming and honest reporting, so it didn't take long for us to make our decision and pack the car.

XC Update: Lapland Lake and Garnet Hill now open for skiing

Lapland Lake and Garnet Hill both opened for skiing today on limited terrain with thin, early season conditions. Kudos to Lapland Lake for offering a half-price ticket ($10) today, helping to take at least a little of the sting out of our lack of snow so far this season. Also, best of luck to Garnet Hill as they start the season under new ownership.

Mount VanHoevenberg in Lake Placid had been open earlier this week, but remains closed today following Tuesday night’s rain. Just a couple inches of snow should allow them to re-open some trails.

Be sure to check the websites of all three ski centers for updates on conditions:

• Lapland Lake ski report
• Garnet Hill Lodge ski report
• Lake Placid cross-country ski conditions

I guess I no longer have an excuse for not training for the Loppett…

Photo: Lapland Lake Friday, 12/23/11

Cross-Country Season Preview

Ski season is just around the corner, and over the past couple weeks I checked in with many of the region's cross-country ski areas. My Adirondack Cross-Country Ski Season Preview appears here, on Adirondack Almanack. If the snow this winter is anywhere near as good as last year, the backcountry options look great too. Here are some additional resources for trip planning this winter:

• Phil Brown takes a look at new slide routes in the High Peaks created by Tropical Storm Irene in his article New Adirondack Slide Guide on Adirondack Exporer.
• New backcountry ski trails have been created in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness area around North River over the past couple of years. Bill McKibben writes about the new routes here in Adirondack Life.

Also be sure to also check out this interview with Ron Konowitz, the only person to have skied all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks for some inspiration.

A visit with Lapland Lake's Ann and Olavi Hirvonen

Last week I had the opportunity to interview Olavi Hirvonen and his wife Ann, who own and operate the Lapland Lake Nordic Vacation Center in Benson, near Northville, NY. Olavi competed in the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympic Games as a member of the U.S. Nordic Ski Team., and in 1978 he founded Lapland Lake, which he and Ann have built into one of the East’s foremost cross country ski centers.

Jeff: What events led to you being selected for the U.S. Olympic Nordic Ski Team in 1960?

Olavi: Well, it’s a long story… I was born in Montreal and was brought to Finland when I was eight months old. I was raised there by my grandmother and learned to ski as a youngster. I came to this country in 1949 after serving in the Finnish Army. After being here a couple years and married for a few months, I received greetings from the U.S. Army with special orders to go to Alaska as an instructor in the Arctic Indoctrination School. In the wintertime I taught skiing, snowshoeing, and Arctic survival, and in the summer it was mountain climbing, rock climbing, glacier travel and arctic water training.