Tupper Lake volunteers impress visiting nordic skiers at first Adirondack Tour de Ski here

by Dan McClelland

Tupper Lake’s first Adirondack Tour de Ski was a resounding success- and well received by the 200 or more people who came to the Tupper Lake Golf Course’s James C. Frenette network of trails to enjoy it.

That it came off so well is solid testimony to the hard work of the trail maintenance crew, who overcame what could have been a wash-out for the Sunday, January 14 event with heavy rain the day before.

Although the second big storm of the season forecast for January 12 and 13 didn’t really materialize it brought heavy rain that Saturday for several hours in the morning.

High winds overnight that Friday blew a lot of the snow off the race course and Saturday morning’s steady rain melted what was left.

Fortunately the rain turned to snow Saturday afternoon when about two inches or so of the fresh stuff fell in less than an hour.

The maintenance crew, directed by John Gillis, spent much of the day before the race shoveling snow back onto the trails. Volunteer Herbie Kentile gathered snow from the driving range part of the course with a Skidsteer and loaded it onto our sleds so we could spread it on the trails, according to Mr. Gillis.

When the squalls of snow fell briefly Saturday afternoon, the volunteers packed it down with four wheelers and let it sit all night for the trails to dry out, he explained.

John’s trail groomers, who include Eric “Shakey” Lanthier, John Quinn, Scott Chartier, and Owen Littlefield were delighted to see three or four more inches on the ground when they awoke Sunday morning, and they were out early packing it and restoring the miles of the trail network.

Winds continued to blow Sunday morning but the new snow was packed into place by then. The mercury rose all morning to about 24 degrees F. for the 11a.m. start.

There were a number of volunteers helping out in various ways including Adam Hurteau, Paul O’Leary, Tim Littlefield and others.

All the parking lots at the golf course were filled with vehicles by 10a.m..

Of the 200 or so people- many of them families who came for the event, there were about 53 or so racers- in various ages from toddlers to teens to adults. Some of the more mature nordic ski racers were in their sixties and early seventies.

The course lengths varied by the age of the competitor- from the “lollipop” oval in front of the club house for the youngest to three laps around the entire mile plus long trail that rings the perimeter of the golf course as well as the Hull’s Brook trail.

“I was absolutely pleased with how everything went,” Organizer John Gillis commented last week. Mr. Gillis brought the new family-style competition to Tupper after joining area ski race organizers early last summer to formulate plans for the new six-venue winter racing series here and in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.

The series began at Mt. Van Hoevenberg in December, with its snow-making ability and moved next to Saranac Lake, which was cancelled due to lack of snow cover. Tupper’s race was the third in the series scheduled but the second one staged.

The skiers came from all over- Keene, Jay, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and according to the town councilman, there was even a group from Old Forge.

Mr. Gillis said that because so many people in the region have been at the local course for the popular Brewski each February, they were familiar with it. Many visitors too, he said, “jumped right in to help!”

“We had a lot of help and that was the greatest part of the event. He said the way the series has been organized, various organizers of the six individual races in the three tri-lakes communities help each out immensely at each event.

A crew of Wild Center-based Americorp volunteers were also very helpful to Mr. Gillis and his team this year. They were organized by the town’s recreation assistant, Christielee Geiger, who worked alongside Laura LaBarge, as part of the town recreation department’s contribution to the event.

Mr. Gillis said he hopes there will be a second Adirondack Tour de Ski and a second Tupper event in it. “We’ll just have to see how the whole thing shakes out in the weeks to come!”

He said one major sponsorship for the series came forward this year to help underwrite many of the expenses this first year “and we have to keep getting more sponsorships going forward.”

“-And Franklin County Tourism gave us a big shot in the arm with a grant of $15,000!”

The county tourism agency, through its robust grant-giving arm, also provided about $8,000 in funding for the town’s new tracked trail groomer- about a quarter of its cost.

The man who the course is named after, John’s Uncle Jim, wasn’t able to make the event, and that was unfortunate John thought, noting “he always loved that community of ski people.” Jim Frenette coached many young nordic skiers here over the years in the town’s and school’s Torgle Tokle and Bill Koch ski programs and was also the primary builder of the trail network on and around the golf course, maintaining it almost by himself for decades, before he coaxed his nephew into the program.

Mr. Gillis said there were many smiles on many faces that Sunday. “Cross country skiing events as a rule are relaxing, happy times,” where participants are typically not as outwardly competitive as you might find at a hockey, football or basketball game, he explained.

It was a day of sunshine for a time and milder temperatures when the 200 or so who came for Tupper’s first “Tour de Ski appeared to be happy to be outdoors after a couple of weeks of nasty winter weather.

“Weatherwise, we got absolutely lucky because when our crew went to bed that Saturday night we were figuring things were going to be very rough. But I woke up early Sunday and looked out at my shop’s steps, which is my snow gauge, and I saw a very welcome three or four inches of snow!”

By race time that Sunday, the race courses on the trail were in top shape.

Groomer Eric Lanthier said the snow both that Saturday afternoon and then overnight really helped the crew.

“We were out grooming at 6a.m. After that I took a few tours up to the upper trails and they were excellent and fast!”