Ron Kon Wants to Maintain Glades on State Land. OK?

"A band of Adirondack skiers is urging the state to allow them to maintain a glade for skiing on Lyon Mountain—a practice that has been done surreptitiously in the Forest Preserve, but something that authorities view as illegal.

Ron Konowitz, a spokesman for the Adirondack Powder Skier Association, contends that backcountry ski trails and glades do not harm the environment and should be permitted as facilitating a benign use of public lands."

http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2013/05/skiers-want-to-maintain-glades-on-lyon-mt.html

A "Powder Skier Association?" Good grief.

I always thought that glading was like Fight Club. Ron Kon has just outed a secret stash with this campaign - is it worth it? He might lose it forever.

Personally, I like the Vermonters' approach: "If you can't hack it, don't hack it. Keep the backcountry wild."

The good people like Warp Daddy, skiing at Titus Mtn, are going to help that local economy a lot more than a small group of brown-bagging BC skiers. Lyon Mtn is long way from anywhere, in fact, it is almost in the Hinterlands.

First SBR thanks that is the nicest thing ive been called in a while , but seriously  keeping one,s local hill well populated with "regional peeps"  is crucial  to the health and well being of the facility . These feeder hills serve a very important function and like Titus  are real PLAYERS in the local economy. Although considered tame by some , Titus provides a fine day of skiing for many families and seniors at a very reasonable price . now in my 7th decade i appreciate having a venue like this within a reasonable distance.

BTW Titus has as many fine brothers and sistahs from Ontario and Quebec ,they add a avery cool vibe to the place !!!

Lyon Mountain would have make a great downhill operation had it ever been developed .  My  ski posse always makes that observation whenever we drive by it on the way to Plattsburgh or points in VT

have a great summer SBR and take good care of UTAH  oh btw i look forward to hearin more of your adventures on THAT fat tired bike

So Ron wants to ask permission NOW? Leave well enough alone.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

A "Powder Skier Association?" Good grief.

Where do I sign up?

Sounds like one stoner on his IPad. He may have woken up to a "what did I do" experience after typing that. Doh.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Ron Kon has just outed a secret stash with this campaign
Personally, I like the Vermonters' approach: "If you can't hack it, don't hack it. Keep the backcountry wild."

It's really not a secret stash. It was written up in one of the outdoor mags a few years back.

As for the Vtr's approach, I see way more stuff cut over there than I do in the Adk's

warp daddy wrote

Lyon Mountain would have make a great downhill operation had it ever been developed.

There was a ski area (Lowenberg) on Lyon Mountain:

http://skikabbalah.com/lostNY/LOWENBERG.htm
http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9638

Benny Profane wrote

Sick Bird Rider wrote

A "Powder Skier Association?" Good grief.

Where do I sign up?

Sounds like one stoner on his IPad. He may have woken up to a "what did I do" experience after typing that. Doh.

A warning to all to be careful what you post when inebriated

He probably is not too popular with the crew that skis there now that he put the DEC on alert

Isn't that the "Ski to die club"? Of which Ron is one of the origingal founding members? Maybe the membership will oust him. Of course it's not like the DEC is unaware or back country skiers and their semi covert activities in the HPs area.

the vermont mantra of don't hack it was born out of necessity when 2 morons took chain saws to the back country and butchered it. i see nothing wrong with clearing blowdown and trimming brush. if you read the article, it stated that DEC would supervise the operation so that nothing would get cut that wasn't supposed to get cut. we are not talking brush hogs and chain saws, most likely loppers and hand saws. i believe that MRG provides the same supervision when they have their mountain cleaning party every fall. the state allows clearing blowdown and other debris on hiking trails and other outdoor sites. and, enough of this secret stash stuff. there has been a culture of violence among surfers over stash sites. skiing doesn't need this. there is plenty of pow for everyone. share the pow.

Lyon Mtn is no secret stash.   

The Adirondack Powder Skier Association is a well thought out approach based on the fact Lyon was included in the Chazy Highland acquisition and limited ski glade options are presently available in DEC trail policy and the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.  

Given that this location is widely known and very  popular it would be pretty much impossible to continue covertly managing the resource.   The Unit Management Planning process has begun and without a strong push to amendment the aforementioned documents the ski glades @ Lyon would be limited to one way down, one trail only.   So after much discussion the Adirondack Powder Skier Association was created in the hopes of establishing ski glades as a compatible use on certain Forest Preserve lands.  

RONKON didn't out anything and has the support of a wide range of back country enthusiasts.  

This issue certainly will be an interesting one to follow.  

Scotty what land classification is he land on Lyon likely to get?  The AA article linked didn't mention it, although I thought I saw somewhere that it might be Wild Forest.

Regardless, it's unlikely that those against RonKon's idea are likely to consider the land inside the Gore boundary (Intensive Use) in the same mental category as the land on Lyon.

I agree it should be interesting to see what happens.  Precedents are important, but so are traditional uses - even in Wilderness Areas.

More from the ADE:

http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/537111/Skiers-want-Lyon-Mountain-glades-maintained.html

lyon mtn was classified Wild Forest in the 2010 classification round.

 

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Adirondack Powder Skier Association is based on the hugely successful Bark Eater Trail Alliance organization.  BETA works with DEC regional foresters to build mtn bike trials consistent w/ APSLMP criteria.  Powder Skier is hoping for the same arrangement.  

There was an update that ran in the Adirondack Almanack today:
http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2013/05/dec-skiers-face-uphill-battle-for-glades-in-preserve.html

I happened to see Ron Kon Sunday evening and we talked about the Adirondack Powder Skier Association.  Actually Ron had told me about the group and the glade maintenance issue back in December, but at that time they didn’t even have a website yet.

In any case, a couple points that aren’t really reflected in the Adirondack Almanack articles:

 - The group’s focus is on lands classified as Wild Forest (Lyon Mountain is so classified).  While some of the same issues may extend to Wilderness areas – i.e. the High Peaks – the group is focusing on Wild Forest land for now.

 - Separating skiers from hikers/snowshoers is a good thing for both groups.  Skiers don’t like hikers in their way or post-holing the trail, snowshoers and hikers don’t like the skiers barreling down the trail at (relatively) high speed.  The best way to achieve separation is establishment of routes (glades) designated for skiers only.

 - Since all cut brush is left essentially where it falls, glades are not attractive as hiking routes in the non-winter months.  Accordingly there is no trail erosion, so there is virtually no adverse environmental impact.

APSA has done a lot of behind-the-scenes work over the past months to get the support of the environmental groups as well.  ScottyJack got it correct in his post ^^ above.  It’s a well thought-out group with wide support of back country skiers.  Backcountry skiing is a compatible use of the Forest Preserve, it deserves to be “legitimized” with the DEC and Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.  

ScottyJack wrote

Adirondack Powder Skier Association is based on the hugely successful Bark Eater Trail Alliance organization.  BETA works with DEC regional foresters to build mtn bike trials consistent w/ APSLMP criteria.  Powder Skier is hoping for the same arrangement.

OK, then. Now that I understand that the APSA is a legitimate organization with some clearly defined and noble objectives, I feel a little bad about poking fun at the beginning of this thread. But you have to admit, it does seem like a wacky concept when you have no context or background information. As restitution, I promise to become the first Hinterlandian member, once they are open to accepting memberships.

Good Read:  http://www.powdermag.com/stories/adirondack-amendment/

Also:   http://adkpowderskier.com

this thread should be renamed RonKon wants to maintain glades.....

Thanks for sharing that. Hope it all works out, seems like a no brainer to me. RonKon brings up some good points about bc skiing really not being around when the original plan was written.