History of Mt. Marcy, Wright Pk. and Whiteface Ski Trails

Published 2023-02-12

Jim Goodwin Oral History Part 2: In the 1920s and 30s Jimmy Goodwin solo skied many of the Adirondack high peaks. He talks about the historic ski trails which evolved from logging roads on the peaks, the stone hut with bunk beds on top of Mount Marcy. A 10th Mountain Division veteran Jim Goodwin is known around Keene Valley as among a group of pioneer skiers. He and others like Hal Burton helped cut ski trails before the commercial ski industry started in the post 1950s period. He talks about the role of the Lake Placid Club in promoting skiing at colleges and hosting events. He talks about conflicts with state groups on trail sizes. North American ski legend Otto Schniebs and Hal Burton helped design and cut ski trails in the Adirondacks in the 1930s. Jim's descents of peaks even predates Marble Mountain on Whiteface and Mt. Esther. The Mount Marcy ski trail exists today in a much more narrow form than its origins. Recent master plans from the 1990s have forced skiers to share trails with snowshoers and postholers despite the user conflict issues and the historical precedents that used common sense to design trail systems.

With commentary from Ron Konowitz, the first individual to ski all 46 high peaks, we learn about Jim Goodwin’s life and stories in this part 2 of the Goodwin recording done in 2008. This video contains important facts on the history of skiing in the Adirondacks in New York State. The Backcountry Profiles series from Treasured Heights interviews local legends of skiing from Maine-California. New York and New England have the greatest concentration of ski pioneers, starting with people like John Apperson, Otto Schniebs, and Irving Langmuir who brought the latest in skiing technique from the Alps and spread the passion of skiing to Ivy league colleges, which then trickled down to the average folk with help of things like the live radio broadcast of the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid.