"Ask Me, I Live Here"

December, 1936--As these lines are written another winter season is just around the corner. As they are read it may be roaring right up through Main street.

Lake Placid residents during the next three months will be asked many questions about winter sports and the facilities here for their enjoyment. It might not be amiss for them to check their general knowledge with a few facts on just what this pioneer American winter resort has to offer its guests.

Suppose we start with skiing . . . that favorite winter diversion which, since the Olympic Winter Games were held here in 1932, has become a national craze, greater than "Knock-knock" or guessing who is going to win the war in Spain.

Approximately 250 miles of ski trails radiate in all directions from Lake Placid. Many have shelters and fireplaces, and all are arranged in suitable courses for both beginners and experts. "Mountain" skiing is one of Lake Placid's greatest winter attractions. Lake Placid modestly boasts what is probably the longest mileage of mountain cross-country ski trails in the northeastern United States.

Included in this ski trail mileage are ten downhill runs, open slopes, cross-country, forest and mountain trails, and a slalom course.

Two of the downhill runs are new this year—the one down, from the peak of Mt. Marcy to Adirondack Lodge and the new slide paralleling the Olympic bob-run on Mt. VanHoevenberg. There is to be a ski tow in operation this winter on Stevens house open slope, and skiers at Mt. VanHoevenberg wilt be taken up to the top of the mountain in Conservation Department trucks. Thus will the demand for "ride up and slide down" facilities be met.

There are six ski jumps in Lake Placid. The Lake Placid Club has two at Intervales, the 60-meter Olympic jump and a smaller  30-meter hill nearby, as well as a 27-meter and a 10-meter hill on its golf course. In the village adjoining the Olympic arena are two more ski-jumping slides, one a 27-meter and the other a 10-meter affair . . . beginners at this Viking sport find the latter plenty high. There is one municipal toboggan slide on Mirror lake, while the Club has two more for its guests.

Mirror lake has a rink for speed, figure-skating, and hockey, while this smooth ice sheet is the scene also of ski-joring, ice harness races, ski-planing, and a wide variety of other snow and ice sports. The Olympic bob-run on Mt. VanHoevenberg is operated by the New York State conservation department. It is 1.5 miles long, has an average drop of 10 percent, and contains 26 curves, seven of which are of the major variety. It is the scene each winter of national and international bobsledding championships.

The Olympic indoor ice arena is used for figure-skating, speed-skating, carnivals, and many other indoor sports activities. The arena seats approximately 3,600 in winter when the ice sheet is down. This ice sheet measures 98.5x197 feet.

And so ends this lesson on Lake Placid's winter sports facilities. 

Lake Placid News

Aurora Ramsay works in the Brewster Research Library at the Adirondack History Center Museum in Elizabethtown. We welcome your comments and memories about any of our posts.  

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