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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