If you're a winter outdoor recreationist you're in for a great January in Lake Placid! We've got some awesome events spread out through the month, all but one taking place outdoors. 

Extreme outdoor films will blow you away

The one event exception that's not taking place in an outdoor venue is the Banff Mountain Film Festival, which is ABOUT the great outdoors, but obviously takes place in a theater. The Lake Placid Center for the Arts plays host to the annual festival celebrating the extremists of outdoor sports around the world. After viewing the clips on the BMFF website, I for one won't miss it! This incredible collection of some of the best-of-the-best films celebrating the spirit of adventure takes place on Sunday, January 25th at 7 pm. You should be sure to be putting this event on your calendar! 

Get outdoors for National Trails Day

Adirondack Mountain Club will be hosting the public on Saturday, January 10 for their second annual Winterfest, a celebration of (Winter) National Trails Day. Trails Day is a nationwide family event designed to introduce families to the outdoors and winter sports (there's a summer Trails Day as well). The ADK will be providing equipment for one and all to try out cross-country skiing, skating, snowshoeing and much more at their Lake Placid headquarters at Adirondack Loj. The best part - it's all FREE! Beginning at 10 a.m. stop out and try some of our local outfitters' demo equipment. Outfitters will be on hand for fitting any equipment you want to test, and Loj personnel will be there to instruct where needed.  

We attended last year's event and I have to say it was a hoot. The Loj had a huge tent set up on the front lawn near the lake in which food and beverage was available for purchase. Local brews, wines and soft drinks, as well as local foods were all on the menu. Tables were set up all around the tent along with heaters for warming. The focal point of the tent was one of our favorite regional bands, Annie in The Water, who kept everybody dancing all afternoon. The skating rink on Heart Lake was cleared and the skating was great. Backcountry tours were arranged for those with experience, and lessons in telemark skiing, snowshoeing, and cross-country were offered... again - all for FREE! This year they'll be offering all of the above plus curling on the pond, a family scavenger hunt, kids' activities, ski racing, guided snowshoe trips and more. Activities start at 10 am and extend through the evening. We hope to see you all there trying out a new sport or enjoying one you love! 

Celebrating the backcountry winter in Keene

This year's International Mountaineering Festival, now in its 19th year of celebrating all the Adirondack backcountry has to offer in winter, is once again organized by the great folks at The Mountaineer in Keene Valley. As part of the festival, to be held January 16 - 18, a sneak preview of Jeff Lowe's extreme winter climbing film Metanoia will be screened here prior to its release in March (see Youtube video at the top of the page). Activities will be spread out from Keene to Keene Valley throughout the weekend, and will include clinics, guided outings and more, making this year's Festival every bit as exciting as in previous years. From clinics and classes to dining and demos, there's a lot going on.

Organizer Vinny McClelland of The Mountaineer in Keene Valley says, "The highlight of our winter is our Adirondack International Mountaineering Festival weekend and this year the event promises to be exceptional with guest athletes Fabrizio Zangrilli and Kitty Calhoun joining our local athletes. There are still some openings in the clinics and, Ullr willing, the weather will continue to produce some great conditions for ice climbing, snow shoeing, demo'ing gear and climbing slides. Highlights for the weekend will include a sneak preview of Jeff Lowe’s new movie Metanoia Friday night, and Fabrizio and Kitt’s presentations Saturday and Sunday night."

Make sure to check out The Mountaineer's website for the complete schedule.

Hockey at its best - on the pond!

Teams from all over the Northeast and Canada will come together at the end of January (29th to February 1st to be specific) for a really special event. That special tradition of grabbing your skates and trekking off to the pond, shoveling the snow, and grabbing a bunch of guys to hit the puck around the ice is not dead! Pond Hockey returns in force for the Can/Am Adult Pond Hockey Tournament. The best part is that the guys no longer have to do the shoveling of the rinks! In this high tech world of ours, we even have Zambonis perfectly sized for Mirror Lake to make the rinks (13 of them in all - rinks not Zambonis) nice and smooth for the more than 80 teams annually participating. Games go on all day long and are free and open to anyone to watch. You can skate around the skate loop on Mirror Lake and take in the hockey games and then stop over at the Toboggan Run for a few slides. (Toboggan Run opens as soon as the ice is sufficient for the trucks to plow the ice for the outrun, and the weather outlook is for consistently cold temperatures). 

If you're coming to Lake Placid for any of these events make advance reservations as rooms fill fast on winter weekends. There's lots more to do in the region all winter, so check out our events calendar for the multitude of other activities on the schedule. Also make time for strolling the pedestrian-friendly village of Lake Placid for all sorts of shops, dining and entertainment options. We hope to see you at one of these fun and lively events this winter!