There is a full range of outdoor activites one could participate in within close distance of Fish Creek Cabin Resort. After a good snow fall you can go downhill skiing or snowboarding at Woods Valley Ski Area in Rome, NY & Snow Ridge Ski Resort. You can go cross-country skiing at a number of facilities at a low cost or for free. Osceola Tug HIll XC Ski Center is a short distance away. The Black River Environmental Improvement Association (BREIA) has a series of different trail systems near Alder Creek, NY. They have the best free groomed trail systems for XC-skiing and snowshoeing.
The pictures below were taken from a XC-skiing day trip I took with my brother. I am not the most advanced, ok I’m pretty new to this winter sport. But if you are new have no fear, you can learn! Out of all of the winter activities I’ve tried, XC wasn’t the hardest to get the hang of. It is nice to have someone who knows what they are doing to give you a couple pointers. My brother competed XC-skiing in high school, so I trusted him to teach me the ropes! He took me to the BREIA trails that are located off Egypt Rd. If you click the following link you can see different trails system they have. I recommend going on a trail that is groomed, it is a lot easier to ski!
-
- Warming hut on the BREIA trails
-
- Overlook
January 9, 2013 XC-Ski Trip
It was a fairly warm winter day in January, and the sun was shining most of our trip. As an outdoor enthusiast myself, I loved that the trails twist and turned through the woods. I love the way the snow looks resting on the skinny branches of the deciduous trees and weighing down on the spruces & pines. Skiers weren’t the only ones using the trail, I realized, as I skied past hove marks made by white-tailed deer. Other animal tracks littered the trail, some not heavy enough to make more than a small indent in the fresh snow fall. After taking a winter mammalian ecology class in Adirondack’s last February, I am fascinated in trying to read the story of an animal through the tracks made in the snow.
We went through a series of easy and intermediate trails. We went down ones small hills where he showed me how to slow down, this is done by turning your feet inward, bringing the tips of your skis closer and rolling your ankles inward so the inner edge of the skis scrapes the snow. We went through trails with lots of twists so he could show me how to turn, done by picking up your feet and short stepping in the direction you want to turn. As he was giving me these pointers I started to think of xc-skiing as if i was running, not on skis, and it was easier to control my balance and technique. Most importantly he thought me the basics of pushing and gliding when your on a straight away. When your foot comes back under your body from stepping forward you push with your toe and let the ski glide behind you. At the same time of doing this your are going to use the opposite pole to push off of. It is easier when you keep your body loose.
Throughout learning these different techniques I couldn’t help but to fall a couple times. The first time was when I was learning to slow down and my skis crossed in front. Warning: Do not cross skis while in motion! The result was by body and skis getting tangled and face in the snow. I did end up crying, from laughter. I was so twisted I thought of a video I saw as a kid when Goofy (from Disney) was learning how to ski.
Another time you might fall, as I did, was your first couple times going down a hill. Warning: Hills result is gain of momentum, worst thing to do is panic! Just try to ride though it or try to slow down. This just resulted in me falling on my rear end, just have to get back up and try again!
Overall I think I learned a lot and improved my xc-skiing techniques through the 3-4 hours we skied. I want to thank my brother, a very talented skier, for taking the time to slow down and show me some pointers, it really helped. I had a lot of those “oh!” moments when I was told something so simple, but I did not know! One thing not to forget, the first time I skied I just held my poles, have someone show you how to “correctly” wrap the strap around your hand because it will make it a heck of a lot easier, and if it slips from your hand you don’t have to go back and get it!
January 12, 2013 XC-Ski Trip
I partook in another ski trip to BREIA with my parents this time on a Saturday afternoon. Today, it was so warm I put my jacket in my backpack! The trails were ski-able, though they were melting. This trip we parked in the parking lot right after the railroad tracks on Egypt Rd., the last trip on 1/9 we drove further down Egypt Rd. to the other parking lot. We did some of the intermediate trails in the upper part of the map.
Fish Creek Cabin Resort 