XC Skiing - Santanoni Preserve

While we got lots of ice and sleet locally over the past few days, the more northern and central parts of the Adirondacks got all snow, up to 18" in spots. So we decided to bite the bullet and drive almost 2 hours to the Santanoni Preserve, near Newcomb. It's an old Adirondack Great Camp, about 5 miles from the highway, on the shores of Newcomb Lake. Conditions did not disappoint.



As backcountry skiing goes, this is pretty tame, a 10-mile round trip along a gently graded forest road. But we still had to carry everything as if on a winter hike, with no warming hut or other amenities, and the usual need to be prepared and self-sufficient. Reached the Camp in something under two hours, and took a brief stop for lunch on the wrap-around porch. The Camp is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is currently in the process of being restored. There were only limited views across the lake to the High Peaks, but I snapped a few shots of the Camp with its mid-winter covering of snow.



In the third picture, those are picnic tables, which shows the depth of the snow.

Skiied out after lunch, about another 2 hours, and the last mile or two to the car just dragged. We were tired, and the skiing itself is not all that interesting, though it was a truly beautiful day to be out.