Adirondack Explorer

Revisiting an old classic

Avalanche Pass is probably the classic ski tour in the Adirondack Park. I’ve skied through the pass to Avalanche Lake more times than I can remember. Oddly, though, I never wrote a story about skiing to the lake and back.

One winter, I aimed to rectify that oversight. My neighbor Tim Peartree and I accompanied Josh Wilson on what passes for a workday for Josh—checking out the ski conditions for the Barkeater Trails Alliance.

Unfortunately, the conditions that day sucked. We spent much of the day trying to avoid rocks and roots, with only partial success. I decided not to do a story. Anything I wrote would not do Avalanche Pass justice.

The next winter, the conditions did not suck. In fact, they were rather fantastic in late January when I dragooned Tim into taking another trip to Avalanche Lake.

When we arrived at Adirondak Loj, there were only a few cars in the parking lot. Since it was

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