As winter settles in, many are exuberant about the thought of accumulating surmountable verticals. In the Adirondacks, that usually begins in late November or early December. Often that invokes purchasing a lift ticket or season pass to be whisked up to the top of the mountain. However, for some die-hard backcountry skiers, their season started long before, in early September!
A group of Plattsburgh State students decided to hike the toll road of Whiteface Mountain on September 8th, 2024, to claim the first turns of the season. Just to clarify, this wasn’t necessarily a whiteout! It was a freak snow squall with sleet. It didn’t matter because they did it, and they were proud of their accomplishments. So, what inspired them to get up at 2 a.m. and drive 45 minutes to the start of their journey? That’s in part due to the culture that started decades before in the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York.
The thrill to ski the Adirondack High Peaks started sometime around 1900, and the region became better known when the 1932 Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid. Lake Placid would host the Olympics for a second time, in 1980, which included heroic descents of nearby Whiteface Mountain.
Prior to the 1980 Olympics, another group of outdoor enthusiasts from nearby Plattsburgh would become the first true pioneers of Adirondack backcountry skiing.
They became known as the Ski to Die Club and would spend weeks at a time living in lean-to shelters or makeshift camps. They skied every known avalanche chute and drainage basin in the High Peaks. They were avid telemark skiers and earned their turns by skinning up the mountains.
The club grew in numbers throughout the eighties. “As long as you could ski fast, hard, and long, you were in,” said Betsy Richert, a member who joined in 1989. In addition, when interviewed by Alan Weschler for an article in Adirondack Life Magazine, she stated, “There were no friends on powder days!”
Many of the original members were in their twenties when they began exploring the High Peaks near Keene Valley. Most of them were unemployed and filled with adrenaline. Pat Munn, one of the first members, was the only one with a car, as stated in Adirondack Life Magazine. It was a small Datsun with the front passenger seat removed to make room for the skis. Everyone then piled in!
Even though they might journey to the wilderness as a group, let’s just say they quite often splintered apart on the summits to track their own secret lines or stashes of pow. They became hardened outdoorsmen. There was no GPS or aerial imagery to assist them. They discovered as they went—sometimes good, sometimes not so much—but they discovered hundreds of lines. Some of the longest descents were 3,000 vertical feet over seven miles. Some were dead ends and required rappelling down sheer rock slabs.
Nevertheless, what these pioneers were doing would change how people approached backcountry skiing. No longer were people considering long, flat journeys to remote places. They were starting to ascend and ski the unfathomable.
Discover more about the history of the club by visiting Adirondack Life Magazine’s "Ski to Die" article.
The equipment used today is far more sophisticated than it was during the seventies and eighties. Boots have become more rigid with plastic molding, and skis now have significantly more shape and are wider. Not to mention, outdoor apparel has advanced to better endure the ruggedness and variable weather conditions.
Furthermore, the number of people venturing into the Adirondacks, both in the summer and winter months, has increased dramatically. This influx has led New York State to develop sustainability plans of action. An original member of the Ski to Die Club, Ron Konowitz, has become a prominent advocate for winter backcountry skiing. He has been sharing his expertise and knowledge of the mountains to help preserve access to the 275,460-acre High Peaks Wilderness area.
Ron “Kon,” as he is known by locals, later became a fifth-grade teacher in Keene Valley. What he is doing now goes beyond exemplary.
“First of all, let it be known that the Adirondacks is one of the most protected places on the planet,” says Ron. “Which is a good thing, but it makes it really hard to change anything about the regulations they passed fifty years ago.” He is referencing the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), which was established in 1971. Ron has been lobbying the APA along with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the Governor's Office, and several Adirondack environmental groups. He serves as the president and spokesperson for the Adirondack Powder Association, which was formed in 2013.
The issue is that ski touring was never clearly defined early on. It was presumed to mean cross-country skiing. People either went to ski areas or used predetermined cross-country ski trails. Who the hell was skinning up a mountain to ski down? In short, as backcountry skiing and boarding equipment evolved, more people began venturing into areas that agencies hadn’t clearly defined. Up to that point, it was only diehards venturing into the backcountry to ski or board. In essence, the backcountry crowd, like the Ski to Die Club, started being viewed as outlaws.
Ron has fought tirelessly to convince protective agencies and groups to allow sensible backcountry usage. Unfortunately, many of his efforts have been stalled by bureaucratic red tape. However, there have been some recent opportunities to present arguments and potentially see amendments made.
The Ski to Die Club sparked a movement to explore and embrace the rawness of nature. It has led to innovation and perpetual growth. What started as a group of friends from nearby Plattsburgh who dared to be different has inspired others to follow their example. They’ve shown that stepping outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens.
Featured image by: Brody Olden.
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