Editorial: Motors on Thirteenth Lake

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has proposed a ban on gasoline powered motorboats on Thirteenth Lake in northern Warren County, New York.

Thirteenth Lake

The 2005 Siamese Ponds Unit Management Plan indicates that the DEC has received "numerous letters and phone calls" on the issue. The complaints address the noise, air and water pollution, and impact on nesting loons and paddlers caused by motorboats.

Under the new regulation, electric motors would still be allowed on the lake. This would allow fishermen to troll and the mobility impaired to continue to access the lake and the Siamese Ponds Wilderness.

We've spent a great deal of time on 13th Lake, and it's beautiful. There are very few lakes in the Adirondacks, accessible by car, that are as unspoiled. The lake is fairly well sheltered from wind, and it's hard to imagine a reasonable use of the lake that isn't possible with a quiet, smoke-free electric motor.

Harvey's Ski Season Highlights 2010-2011

The 2010-2011 ski season started off slowly, without a lot of natural snow. In our corner of New York — the southern Adirondacks — we only had ten inches of snow by New Years Day.

Opening Day at Gore Mtn

But sustained cold through the entire season ensured that what we got stuck around, and NY ski mountains made steady progress covering trails with manmade snow.

My season included a nice lists of firsts. I skied the opening days at Gore, Hunter and Plattekill. And my day at Hunter was the debut of New York's first six pack chairlift, the Kaatskill Flyer.

Steve Wright of Jay Peak Resort

Interview by Jamesdeluxe

I first ran into Steve Wright in cyberspace on the First Tracks Online eastern forum a few years ago. As Jay Peak’s Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, he occasionally popped into discussions to add a comment or two. But instead of coming off as a ski-resort salesman — there only to perform damage control or to publicize something — Steve took us behind the curtain to explain how and why things happen at ski-area marketing departments, both at Jay Peak and industry-wide.

As Jay transforms itself from a no-frills mountain with the deepest lift-served snow east of the Rockies into one with a fair amount of destination resort accoutrements, we thought that it’d be interesting to hear his thoughts on a variety of marketing-related topics.

Your first ski-area marketing job was at Killington. What was it like?

As you can imagine, there was a very heavy corporate hand, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a negative way. During its halcyon period, there were a lot of good things happening, including the K1 gondola and other big investments. There was always a ton of energy down there, but not much flexibility to communicate what we wanted.

Searching for the King of Spring

by ml242

Skiing in May means traveling a little further when you’re based in downstate NY. For most of us, the ultimate late-season pilgrimage is to Mount Washington. Or if you have the money, I’m sure Mammoth, Mount Hood, or Alaska would provide a nice trip. With more limited finances and an oddball sense of fun, I decided to say goodbye to two more eastern resorts I really appreciate, Stowe and Sugarbush, both located in northern Vermont.

Both mountains provide some of the best experiences that the East Coast can offer. Deep light snow, endless trees, generous vertical and great views. I’d have to settle for the latter three, because although a few inches of fresh had fallen (you can see how clean it is in the troughs of the moguls at the Bush compared to the older snow), skiing last weekend basically meant riding the fake snow at the higher elevations.

Closing Day at Hunter 2011

by ml242

Closing day is a complicated event for most die-hard skiers. Every spring, when people start talking about sunny 70-degree weather, truly passionate skiers have trouble getting excited about it, in April or May, or even June.

Regardless of the weather, closing day always does offer some closure, like an outdoor group therapy session. It’s wishing away the upcoming warm weather, sharing beers with strangers, Chinese downhills to get a last chair before closing, and my personal favorite, cheap tickets.

Lost Ski Areas of the Adirondacks

Jeremy Davis, founder of NELSAP, the New England Lost Ski Areas Project, is beginning work on his third book devoted to ski areas in the northeast that are no longer in operation.


Entitled Lost Ski Areas of the Adirondacks, this book will highlight 50-60 areas from that region, from the first J-bar in New York State (in Lake George), to short rope tows at hotels in Lake Placid, to large planned resorts that were never completed like Lowenburg near Lyon Mountain.