Come to Tug Hill and enjoy this wonderland of snow.   For the third year we will be staying at The Allegro House in Port Leyden, which is only a couple of miles from Turin.  This lovely Georgian Victorian home was originally built in 1837 but has recently been extensively renovated.   The accommodations include great bedroom suites, each with it’s own refrigerator and private or semiprivate bath.  Shared spaces include a kitchen, where we will prepare our own meals, and living and dining rooms.  The place even has DSL WiFi for the “can’t be disconnected” among us.

Skiing opportunities abound on the east side of Tug Hill and are familiar to many of us.  They include our all-time favorite, Carpenter Road, as well as the FREE groomed trails operated by BREIA, Confusion Flats, Whetstone Gulf State Park, Barnes Corners and others.

We hope to see you there!

Taking advantage of the long Martin Luther King weekend, the club returns to the capital of the Ontario Province before the Interlude Winter Carnival crowds and higher prices.  We are staying in up-graded accommodations at Extended Stay Deluxe Downtown Hotel Suites.  Each suite has 2 bedrooms with 2 king size beds, a living room, full kitchen and bath.  The hotel has secure parking and is within walking distance of the Rideau Canal, the world’s largest ice skating rink, Canadian Parliament and other downtown attractions.

We can make our meals in our suites and/or partake of the many dining opportunities the city offers.  The trip leader will organize nightly pre-dinner suite socials.  For those who would like to eat dinners in the suites, the trip leader will organize a kitchen dinner schedule.  Participants will be responsible for their own breakfasts unless the suites want the leader to help organize that too.  Each person is responsible for his/her trail lunches.

Ski venues include 124 miles of cross-country trails at Gatineau Park that accommodate every level of skiing ability and downhill skiing at Camp Fortune, Gatineau Park, or Mont Ste-Marie in Quebec Province.  A bonus might be a tour of Old Chelsea, adjacent to Gatineau Park, and an outdoor Scandinavian bath experience at the Le Nordik-Spa Scandinavia.

Participants are strongly encouraged to carpool for the sake of economy and safety, and the group leader will assist with preplanning.  Drive time is 7½ hours up interstate 81 to the Canadian border and then 1½ hours to Ottawa City.

Join us for a super skiing trip that also offers cultural advantages and sightseeing in Ottawa!

This trip combines an old favorite ski venue, Highland Forest, with a new-to-us ski venue , Green Lakes, and new-to-us lodging at Brae Loch Inn in Cazenovia, NY.

If you have never been to Caz, you will be bowled over by its beauty.  It is truly one of the prettiest villages in New York State, situated on little-known Cazenovia Lake, 20 miles SE of Syracuse.  If you arrive early enough and the weather permits, I recommend that you stroll the tree-lined main street and side streets.  Upstate New York Victorian architecture at its finest, perhaps rivaling the more famous (and harder to pronounce and spell) Skaneateles (skan-e-AT-lis).

We’ll be staying at the Brae Loch Inn.  The innkeepers’ family has owned the hSkiAreaOutlineMap-LakePlacidouse since its opening in 1946.  The inn is about equidistant from our two ski venues.  All rooms have private bath and shower, color TV, individual heat control, and phones.  The inn serves a continental breakfast, but don’t be alarmed that you won’t be adequately fueled for a day of skiing.  I verified that the offerings are substantial and include fruit, muffins, yogurt, and more.  Saturday dinner is also at the inn.

Highland Forest is a county park in the extreme southeast corner of Onondaga County.  Occupying some of the highest terrain in the county, it’s in a good position to capture lake-effect snows.  The skiing is free except for the $1 parking fee.  There is a full variety of terrain here, and the trails are groomed.  There are more miles of trails than you can ski in one day.  We’ll plan to ski here on Saturday.

Green Lakes will be Sunday’s destination.  Located north of Fayetteville, also in Onondaga County, it is a new venue for us.  There is snowshoeing in addition to X-C.  Trails range from easy to difficult with a total length of 12.8 miles.  The campground road, which can be snowshoed (and probably skied), is a 2.7-mile steady incline (5.4 miles round trip).

See you at the Brae Loch!

Join us for an outstanding weekend of skiing and relaxing at the 1880's House in Pulaski, NY.  This B&B is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario where the "Lake Effect" drops more average snowfall than anywhere else east of the Rocky Mountains. The charming 1880's House B&B is in downtown Pulaski. Our host, Linda Tarbox, has taken excellent care of us in the past and is sure to do so this year.  Linda is again offering delicious dinners both Saturday and Sunday nights.  The trip cost includes "cauldrons" of Après-ski soup on the stove and breakfast each morning.  The rooms are comfortable and the house decor is charming. Don't forget the ski-waxing room downstairs.

The Pulaski area of the Tug Hill Plateau has an excellent selection of commercial and public cross-country ski venues, including the Tug Hill Tourathon Ski Trail Systems, Salmon Hills Ski Touring Trails, Osceola Tug Hill Cross-Country Ski Center, Barnes Corners Ski Trails and other.  Skiers of all ability levels will find just what they're looking for.  Pulaski is an easy six-hour drive, straight up I-81, about an hour above Syracuse.  If you wish to extend your stay, Peg will put you touch with Linda.  Bring your own trail lunch goodies.  Trail fees are not included.

This season marks a long-awaited return to North Conway, NH, and the beautiful White Mountains at the base of Mount Washington, highest peak in the eastern US.

We have reserved three-bedroom condos at the Stonehurst Manor, 3351 White Mountain Highway, North Conway, NH, 603-356-3113,‎ just north of town.  Each condo can comfortably accommodate 6 people with 3 bedrooms and 2-1/2 baths.  Units include fully-equipped kitchen, color cable TV, living room with fireplace/woodstove, dining room, family room and washer and dryer.  Oh, and don’t forget, you also have free use of the Manor swimming pool and ten foot outdoor Jacuzzi overlooking the White Mountains.

There are a bonanza of groomed, commercial skiing opportunities in the area including the Mt Washington Valley Ski Trails, which go right by the Manor, Bear Notch, Bretton Woods, Great Glen, Jackson XC and King Pine.  Public, ungroomed trails in the White Mountains National Forest include Greeley Ponds, Hayes Copp, Lincoln Woods, Lower & Upper Nanamocomuck and Zealand Valley Ski Trails.  And, of course, there are a choice of downhill slopes in the area.  For a day off or for non-skiers, there are lots of outlets, stores and restaurants for shopping, browsing or munching.

The plan is to prepare our own meals but we may get tired of our own cooking and opt to eat out one or two of the nights.  The costs for breakfasts and dinners that we will prepare ourselves are included.  You will be responsible for your own lunches.

North Conway is a long drive from Harrisburg, 525 miles and about 9½  hours, so you should consider carpooling.

Please join Sandy and Bill Stine for a week in this magnificent winter wonderland!

Pioneer Lodge bed and breakfast calls us once again after a 2 year hiatus.  Our wonderful hostess, Diane, will cook breakfast to order each morning and provide hearty, family-style dinners on Saturday and Sunday evenings.  Friday evening is on your own; we can make suggestions if you like.  Bring lunch supplies since we usually eat on the trail.  Bring a book or two to read by the fire.  Rooms are generally doubles and we share bathrooms.

We ski in the Tug Hill area and choose from many available free trails, as snow conditions determine.  There is a lot of snow in this area, sometimes more than 300" in a season.  Ski trails are Carpenter Road, BREIA trails, Whetstone Gulf State Park, Barnes Corner, etc.  Some trails are groomed; some we groom ourselves. 

Please join us.  The Club has revisited Pioneer Lodge many times.  It's a place you will want to return to!

We’ve found a new rental house this year.  Hillcrest Views, at 74 Hillcrest Ave, is just up the hill from downtown and a few doors away from the Tudor we stayed in for several years.  It has seven bedrooms and 3 baths, plus living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen (but the entire group can’t eat in it at the same time), enclosed and heated rear porch, and indoor ski storage area.

What can we say about xc-skiing around Lake Placid?  There are no fewer than a dozen (count ‘em!) ski venues within a 25-mile radius of Lake Placid, so there are facilities for all levels of skiers.  Novices are best served by the wide exquisitely groomed trails of the Mt  Van Hoevenberg and Cascade touring centers (both of which charge a fee).  Novice skiing is also available free at the VIC (Visitors Information Center) in Paul Smiths.  Intermediate and advanced skiers can enjoy these facilities as well, plus ungroomed trails such as the Fish Pond truck trail, the Northville-Placid and Jack Rabbit trails, and others.  On occasion, the club has skied up and then down the unplowed Whiteface Mtn Memorial Hwy.  Downhill skiing is available at Whiteface (a/k/a “Iceface”), and snowshoeing opportunities also exist.

Breakfasts and dinners are included in the price and will be eaten at the house, with cooking and clean-up duties shared by all.  Lunches can be prepared to carry along, since most skiing venues do not have restaurants; but in any case, skiers are responsible for their own lunches.  Maximum capacity is 11, but depending on the mix of sign-ups, it might be possible to accommodate 13.

Snow in mid-February is usually dependable and there is plenty to do in the area if you don’t ski, or if the weather doesn’t favor skiing.  Yes, Lake Placid is a long drive (450 miles from Harrisburg or Lancaster), but the 4-day weekend and outstanding skiing to be had make it worth the trip.  If you have the time (and money), you can stay in the area longer and do more skiing, without additional travel expenses.

See you there!

We are returning to one of our favorite destinations in Pennsylvania. It is only a three hour drive to some of the finest snow conditions in the state. The Laurel Highlands, western PA’s snow belt, has an abundance of snow and beautiful trails through state parks and state forest lands. Skiing opportunities include Forbes State Forest, Laurel Ridge and Kooser State Parks. Laurel Ridge has groomed trails, with choices for all level of skiers and rentals, lessons and a concession. The trail fee is about $10. The many trails within the state forest are not groomed but well maintained and often have the trail broken by local, early skiers.

We are staying at the Holiday Inn in Somerset again this year. To avoid the problem of increasingly unpredictable snow conditions, this hotel option provides us with flexibility, i.e. cancellation as late as 6 pm on day of arrival. Call Vera Burkett, 814 445 9611 and make your reservation for a room reserved by Dennis Major/Kick 'n Gliders with the reduced price of $118 including tax. Please reserve soon as possible as it is also a downhill area and rooms will be tighter near the date.

Please email dennismajor@ymail.com or call 717-432-7068 when you make your reservations as we, not the treasurer, will be keeping the list as there is no deposit required.

Please let us know if you are a single looking for a roommate as we may have another single also looking.

Listed annually as one of the best-groomed ski touring centers in the East, Lapland Lake has something to offer everyone, from beginner to expert skier.  Nestled in a snow basin in the southern Adirondack Preserve, the center provides skiing from late- November thru mid-April.  Its trail system has 50km of marked and mapped trails, 38 of which are groomed by Snowcats for both classical touring and skate skiing.  A unique experience is Saturday evening skiing on 4 km of illuminated trails.  The center also provides complete rental services and lessons for classic touring and skate skiing.  There is a lodge with a fireplace, a restaurant serving American and Finnish fare and snack areas.  Last year we also skied nearby marked trails on public land, saving a day’s trail fee.

Again lodging will be at the Flip Inn in Northville.  We have 6 rooms reserved, three with queen-sized beds and the other three with doubles.  Additional lodging may be available, if needed, but the rooms are double occupancy to keep the trip reasonable.  All meals will be eaten out, as the Inn’s few efficiencies have cramped kitchen areas.  The Island Pub is located about 100 yards from the Inn on the shores of the Great Sacandaga Lake.  The atmosphere is warm and friendly; the food is delicious and reasonably priced.  We will also attempt dinner one evening at Pour Jim’s, a favorite with the locals, if we can beat the crowd.  Breakfast will again be at the Northampton Diner, with charm, food and prices straight from a 1950’s time warp.

It’s a great trip; with MapQuest rating it as 5 hours and 35 minutes from Harrisburg (I always plan 6 hours).  Those wanting to extend the trip a day or two should make those arrangements directly with the Flip Inn staff.

This year’s second Canadian trip mark our return to Canada’s Laurentian Mountains.  We’ll be staying at historic Parker's Lodge Auberge du Lac Paquin (also known as Auberge du Lac Paquin) in Val-David, 60 miles northwest of Montreal where we will be provided with full breakfasts and dinners.  Ooverlooking the superb Lac Paquin, the inn is an authentic Swiss-style lodge built by one of the pioneers of ski stations in the Laurentians.  It retains its rustic charm while providing us with modern amenities.

Much of the Laurentians earliest ski history revolves around this area.  Nearby Parc Dufresne’s  130+ km cross-country trail system covers a territory of 15 square kilometers spread out between Val-David and the adjacent town, Val-Morin.  Early portions of its scenic trail network were designed by cross-country pioneer, Jackrabbit Johannsen.  About 30 miles away lies the area’s highest peak, Mont Tremblant, renowned as one of North America’s oldest and best ski areas.  The town of the same name has an extensive cross-country ski center and the Mont Tremblant Provincial Park has two large ski areas.  In addition, the area is home other first-class ski-touring centers to explore including Parc des Campeurs in nearby, charming Sainte-Agathe.  For those interested in the easiest of trails, there is even the P’tit train du Nord, a converted rail-bed linear park that stretches for 200 km.

Val David is a long drive, 550 miles and 9 hours, but you'll have lots of time there.  You might want to arrange to car-pool.

Come, help us discover more of this superb skiing area!

Rocky Point Resort has been a popular destination for Kick 'n Gliders for several years.  Rocky Point Resort is located at the eastern end of Fourth Lake in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.  We have reserved three three-bedroom condos for this long weekend trip of three nights.  The weekend starts when we meet for dinner Friday night at the Old Mill in Old Forge.  We will share the work of dinner preparation on Saturday and Sunday evenings when we all eat together by squeezing into one condo.  Even though it's starting to thaw in PA, there is still plenty of snow in the Adirondacks for this trip.  There are skiing opportunities for everyone from beginner to advanced skiers.  There are groomed trails in nearby Fern Park that offers trails from flat to mountainside.  We always have a group that opts for the gentle slopes of nearby golf courses.  Others may want to ski the more challenging woodland trails.  Everyone always has a good time, no matter where they ski.

After skiing, we often retire to a local pub for refreshments and stories of the day.  Save time for the pool and hot tub back at the Resort to relax your tired muscles.  Also save time to visit the excellent local ski shops to look for season end bargains, replace worn-out equipment or buy that item you "just need to have."  The cost of $200.  includes three nights lodging, two dinners in our condos (preceded by super appetizers), three breakfasts and bed linens and towels.  You will need to bring trail snacks and lunch supplies as lunch is often eaten on the trail.  You will also need to bring your favorite after ski refreshments.  The condos have fireplaces, dishwashers, washers and dryers.  As mentioned above, a pool and hot tub are available for our use also.

Driving time from Harrisburg to Inlet, NY is six hours.  Call Bill if you have questions about this delightful trip.

Yes, ski conditions are still excellent in Pulaski in early March! This destination is so popular that we added a second Pulaski trip to our season schedule this year. Join us for an outstanding weekend of skiing and relaxing at the 1880's House in Pulaski, NY.  This B&B is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario where the "Lake Effect" drops more average snowfall than anywhere else east of the Rocky Mountains. The charming 1880's House B&B is in downtown Pulaski. Our host, Linda Tarbox, has taken excellent care of us in the past and is sure to do so this year.  Linda is again offering delicious dinners both Saturday and Sunday nights.  The trip cost includes "cauldrons" of Après-ski soup on the stove and breakfast each morning.  The rooms are comfortable and the house decor is charming. Don't forget the ski-waxing room downstairs.

The Pulaski area of the Tug Hill Plateau has an excellent selection of commercial and public cross-country ski venues, including the Tug Hill Tourathon Ski Trail Systems, Salmon Hills Ski Touring Trails, Osceola Tug Hill Cross-Country Ski Center, Barnes Corners Ski Trails and other.  Skiers of all ability levels will find just what they're looking for.  Pulaski is an easy six-hour drive, straight up I-81, about an hour above Syracuse.  If you wish to extend your stay, Peg will put you touch with Linda.  Bring your own trail lunch goodies.  Trail fees are not included.