Adirondack Paddling Symposium

By Danny Mongno

OLD FORGE – Last year, I joined up with Adirondack Sports magazine to talk about the importance of being exposed to formal paddle sports instruction. I told my personal story of how I couldn’t for the life of me contemplate taking kayak classes – until a friend helped me understand all I really didn’t know. My complacency and false sense of security was exposed, and from that moment on, I was dedicated to learning and eventually teaching paddle sports. It was with that line of thinking, that Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company founded the Adirondack Paddling Symposium, which took place last June in Old Forge. READ MORE

Pharaoh Lake Wilderness

By Rich Macha

Many winters ago, I went on my first real backcountry ski tour into the wilderness and Pharaoh Lake was the destination. Dressed in cotton corduroy pants and other layers of cotton clothing, plus wool sweater, gloves and hat, I was semi-prepared for the task. Without gaiters, wet snow loved to cling to those pants. At the Watch Rock lean-to, my buddy revealed a pint of whiskey which we shared, and on the return my skiing skills deteriorated somewhat, but I was able to avoid serious injury and had a great time. These days, now much wiser and less ignorant, I don’t wear cotton clothing on the trail, I refrain from consuming alcoholic beverages on the tour, and I still have a great time. READ MORE

Get Some Skin in the Game, Ski Uphill!

By Skip Holmes

It’s 5:30am and you could be waiting for the lifts to start at 8am in order to get first tracks on Whiteface after an overnight dump of fresh powder. Or, you could already be at the base of the mountain clicking into your bindings at 6am, and then turning on your headlamp to begin an upward trek to the top of the mountain, and then ski down before the lifts are even open! READ MORE

Amy’s Park in Bolton Landing - A Great Introduction to Winter Hiking

By Tom O’Grady

Amy’s Park in the town of Bolton is a great spot to visit if you are new to winter hiking or if you are looking for a new place to explore any time of the year. The 500 acres included in the preserve were purchased by the Lake George Land Conservancy in February of 2012 and named in memory of Amy Wolgin Wiener. The property is a small ecosystem of ponds, marches and forests. The hiking trails were officially opened for public use in the summer of 2012. The original trails went through updates that were completed in November 2019 so if you have previously visited it’s a perfect time to return to see the changes. READ MORE

I Shouldn’t Be Here

By Linda Waxman Finkle

“266 days post-surgery. 174 days to Ironman Lake Placid. I’m the luckiest guy on the planet.”

Dennis Beardsley’s best friend describes him as unstoppable, and there’s not a shadow of a doubt about that. But, let’s put this in some perspective:

June 29, 2019 – Dennis enters the water for the Tupper Lake Tinman triathlon, and quickly realizes that something is very wrong. With a well-documented congenital heart issue, discovered in his 20s, he makes the difficult decision to exit the race. The medical staff gives him nitroglycerin, runs some tests and rules out a heart attack, but sends him by ambulance to St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, a three-hour ride from the race. READ MORE

Beware the Snake Oil Salesperson

By Paul E. Lemanski, MD, MS, FACP

Medicines are a mainstay of American life and the healthcare system not only because they are perceived to work by the individuals taking them, but also because their benefit may be shown by the objective assessment of scientific study. Clinical research trials have shown that some of the medicines of Western science may reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular death. READ MORE