Monthly Archives: January 2012

Registration Is Now Open!

Dear Adirondack Snow Sliders,

It’s finally starting to feel like ski season, and we have high hopes for the next couple of months in the peaks. The Mountaineer and Cloudsplitter Mountain Guides have teamed up to host the 10th annual Adirondack Backcountry Ski Festival on March 3rd and 4th. The Skifest celebrates the ski experience both here in our own backcountry and in the greater ranges of the world.

This year’s event features guest athlete Glen Plake, who is well known as the star of many ski films and is one of the sport’s most fervent ambassadors. Plake is an extremely accomplished backcountry skier, guide and instructor based in Chamonix, France, but he loves visiting smaller ski destinations and skiing with regular skiers like us. He will be skiing at Otis Mountain on Saturday and entertaining us with a presentation on Saturday evening at the Keene Central School.

Guided ski tours will be held on Saturday and Sunday, led by Cloudsplitter Mountain Guides and a great group of local ski gurus. Skiers with intermediate nordic skills can join the classic Avalanche Pass ski traverse, while intermediate to expert downhill skiers looking to get into backcountry skiing will want to join the Intermediate Tour. Expert skiers with prior backcountry experience and their own gear can refine their skills on the Advanced Tour. Space is limited, so check out our web site to pick the tour that’s right for you and call us soon to register.

Demos and mini clinics will again be held at Otis Mountain in Elizabethtown on Saturday. Otis is a private ski area that offers a great venue for testing out the latest skis and boots as well as clinics on skinning, telemark skiing and more. Mini-clinics and demos will be free of charge. And again, Otis is the place to be if you want to ski with Glen Plake!

The Mountainfest is benefit event, with all proceeds supporting the New York State Ski Education Foundation’s Nordic racing programs and the Adirondack Ski Touring Council, stewards of the Adirondack Park’s backcountry ski trail system, including the famous Jackrabbit Trail.

Call The Mountaineer at 518 576 2281 or visit www.mountaineer.com for more information and to register for the clinics, and please visit our store, open daily from 8am to 5:30pm, for all your backcountry skiing needs.

Think snow!
The Crew at the Mountaineer