Adirondack Climbs: Jeff's Favorites

I’ve always been a hiker, but about 10 years ago peak-bagging and slide climbing followed a natural progression that led me into rock climbing. Living north of Albany, most of my climbing has been done in the Adirondacks. Following are a few favorite Adirondack climbs.

Away From the Lifts

New York state has more ski areas than any other state in the nation. But there’s more to New York skiing than just the lift-served areas. We’ll be publishing occasional photos and features of adventures away from the lifts, from groomed cross country skiing to ski mountaineering.

I took this photo a few years back on an adventure in the Adirondacks. Although it was relatively late in the season, the snow was pretty thin on this slide. Plus I was on ridiculously skinny skis and flimsy leather boots. I figure that gives me a reason to go back. Can you guess the location of this photo?

Adirondack Marsh Paddle

Lake George, the Queen of American Lakes, is renowned for its beauty. Although the lake can swarm with tourists during the summer, there are plenty of wild places to find. Yesterday afternoon, I paddled my kayak into a quiet marsh that is one of our favorite paddling destinations.

Lupine & Lady's Slippers

At the end of the last ice age, between 10 and 20 thousand years ago, the continental ice sheet that covered Gore Mountain, Whiteface and the Adirondacks receded. As the ice melted, water became impounded in a massive lake known as Glacial Lake Albany that covered the region from Glens Falls to Albany. Eventually that water drained away, but it left behind large deposits of sand and silt. Today, the sandy soil provides essential habitat for blue lupine – the only plant that the larvae of the endangered Karner blue butterfly feed on.

Jeff's Ski Season Highlights 09-10

In some ways, the 09-10 ski season was “challenged.” We had a late start, an early finish, and a prolonged snow drought in between. But despite those difficulties, I had my best ski season in at least 6 or 8 years. A good deal of that satisfaction came from skiing together as a family for the first time and observing our son’s progress over the winter. And some of that satisfaction came from plain old great skiing. Here are some highlights from a few of those days:

Sagamore, Feb 6