So Much to Do in the Olympic Region

One of the big pluses to living here in Lake Placid is the myriad of cool events and activities we have at our disposal. For those of you who recognize the name "Lake Placid" only from the movie about the lake monster, well, wake up and smell the coffee. (Drive through Mt. Java - hurry.) The Olympic Winter Games were held here in Lake Placid, New York in 1932 and 1980. As a result of hosting two Olympics, we have a plethora of facilities ably maintained by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) specifically to host world-class sporting events. Speaking of which; an FIS Freestyle World Cup hits the Olympic Region January 18-20, 2008. The Nature Valley Freestyle Cup - FIS Freestyle World Cup is a must-see event. The mogul competition happens at Whiteface on Friday and Sunday, and the aerials will be held at the Olympic Jumping Complex on Saturday. If you have never seen world-class freestyle skiers, you really should plan on coming to the Adirondacks over MLK weekend. You will be treated to some very impressive skiing. Just watching the mogul skiers makes my knees hurt and the aerialists are the ones who do the upside-down tricks - extremely cool. It is sure to be a fun weekend as ORDA has also booked bands for each day, so there will be live music at each site. The coup de grace for that weekend is the world-famous, full moon cross-country ski party to be held Saturday night at Art Jubin's Cascade Ski Touring Center in Lake Placid. For the uninitiated, the full moon parties are a North Country tradition of unparalleled fun. As the name implies, the parties happen on full moon weekends. Revelers can ski to kegs of beer and bonfires placed along the touring center's lit cross-country ski trails. There will also be live music and dancing inside at Knicker's bar at Cascade Ski Touring. Be forewarned however, the bouncer on duty for full moon night at Knicker's is downright menacing!

Whiteface Mountain Makes the Grade

Whiteface Mountain, in Wilmington, New York, was recently named the 4th most popular ski resort in North America by Conde Nast magazine. I was pleasantly surprised to hear this news. As you may have noticed, I am a big fan of the Adirondacks. And even after living here for 20 years, I still feel like I am on holiday. However, the rating surprised even me. There are no Vermont ski resorts even close to Whiteface in the ranking - and the list was for all of North America. It seems the Adirondacks have been discovered as a resort destination. The word from the tourism folks is that town is completely full and booked for this holiday week!

The Morning Commute

Since the purpose of this blog is to highlight the Adirondack lifestyle, I frequently post pictures in an attempt to capture the natural beauty of the Adirondacks. An appreciation for natural beauty is a basic characteristic of someone who chooses to live or vacation in the Adirondacks. I have so many favorite views of the Adirondacks, it is sometimes difficult to choose which one to mention. Today's view is one of my every-day eye candy indulgences. This photo was taken from the intersection of NY Route 73 and the Adirondack Loj Road, on the way into the Village of Lake Placid. The Adirondack Loj Road ends at one of the gateways to the High Peaks hiking trails, at the Adirondack Mountain Club's facilities. The Loj Road is a popular spot for photo ops of the incredible vistas across the potato fields. I enjoy this view every day on my trips in and out of the Village of Lake Placid. It is a little distracting on bike rides when I have to pay attention to the road since it is a relatively fast downhill; I'd rather be checking out the views. Here is a link to today's photo album of Loj Road views. It's a beauty day here in the Adirondacks.

Christmas Eve 2007 in the Adirondacks

It is snowing like crazy here, thank goodness. Here's the real snow report: we lost about 18 inches of the 30 inches of snow we had on the ground in yesterday's warm and rainy windstorm. Winds topped 70 mph here; there are many trees down and limbs across wires, etc. Mount Van Hoevenberg is closed in order to clean the trails of debris and will re-open tomorrow. Whiteface is open with the lower mountain, Little Whiteface, ready to go. The cold front came through about 9:00 last night and the rain changed to snow, so we have about two inches of fresh snow on 12 inches of very hard pack. I imagine the back country has breakable crust and will need a few more inches of fresh snow to be back up to snuff. It is really fun to visit the Olympic Speed Skating Oval in the Village of Lake Placid this time of year. You can skate on the oval where Eric Heiden won his five gold medals in the 1980 Olympic Winter Games.
The birds have discovered the smörgåsbord of feeders here at the homestead. Today's star is Mr. Hairy Woodpecker.