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The Seventh Annual
Adirondack Backcountry Ski
Festival
The Mountaineer in Keene Valley, NY will be hosting the
seventh annual Adirondack Backcountry Skifest the weekend
of March 7 & 8, 2009. The Backcountry Skifest celebrates the ski
experience both here in our own backcountry and in the greater ranges of the world.
Backcountry skiing
means skiing on natural snow in natural terrain, and combines all
of the elements of touring, climbing and downhill skiing into a real
winter mountaineering experience.
Local backcountry gurus and Cloudsplitter Mountain Guides in
Keene Valley will lead guided tours for all ability levels on Saturday
and Sunday. Backcountry Magazine will host a dinner at the Keene Valley
Lodge and two or three backcountry ski films after dinner at the
Mountaineer on Saturday night.
New for this year, demos and mini clinics will 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,
beacon search and more. Mini-clinics and demos will be free of charge!
‘We are incredibly lucky to have such a great group of local and guest
guides for this event who are willing to come out and share their depth
of experience and knowledge with other skiers,’ says the Mountaineer’s
Vinny McClelland. Intermediate nordic skiers can traverse the High Peaks
through Avalanche Pass with David Thomas-Train and Tony Goodwin, while
intermediate downhill skiers will head for a favorite glade or
backcountry trail with Colin Loher and Bill Dodd or Emilie Drinkwater
and Jim Sausville. Experienced
backcountry skiers can join a tour of one of the High Peaks' challenging
slides with Jesse Williams and Jeremy Haas.
Major sponsors for this year’s event include Primaloft and Backcountry
magazine. Garmont, Scarpa, Voile, Dynafit, Black Diamond and Karhu have generously provided the
latest demo equipment for event participants. Additional sponsors
include Mammut, G3, Ortovox and Marmot. The Skifest is a
benefit event, with 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.
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