SNO-CIETY, New Warren Miller Film

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Bring on winter with a Warren Miller film! Presented by Alpine Sport Shop, this year’s movie will be shown on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Maple Avenue Middle School in Saratoga Springs. Tickets are on sale now at the shop, so get yours before they sell out. The presentation benefits the Saratoga Springs High School Alpine Ski Team and Double H Ranch Adaptive Winter Sports Program. Doors open at 6:30pm and the movie starts at 7pm. Local ski clubs will be present with membership info and there will be fantastic prizes at the intermission.

Warren Miller’s SNO-CIETY is a celebration of the spirit of winter – wherever you ride and however you connect to the snow and the community around it. From big mountain lines and race gates to urban ski hills and unexpected destinations, come along as they carve turns and find their crew – from California, Colorado, and New Hampshire to Austria, British Columbia, Finland, and Scotland. Drop in with Olympians, urban riders, and local legends on the big screen, including Daron Rahlves, Britta Winans, Judd Henkes, Sarka Panacochova, Breezy Johnson, Chris Rubens, and Juho Kilkki. 

For more Warren Miller showings in Upstate New York, including Proctors Theater in Schenectady on Sun, Nov. 16, visit the Calendar of Events. Info and tickets for the Saratoga Springs show, call 518-584-6290 or visit: alpinesportshop.com. For other shows, go to: warrenmiller.com.

The Adirondack Rail Trail is Officially Open 

SARANAC LAKE – The Adirondack Rail Trail third phase has been completed from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake. Since 2012 when the Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates was founded to push for this trail, thousands signed petitions, wrote letters, and packed public meetings to show support. In 2020, the Unit Management Plan was amended to allow the trail from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake. Between 2023-2025, three phases of the trail were opened. 

Twenty years of advocacy, persistence, and community effort led to this incredible resource for locals and visitors alike. The ribbon cutting on Oct. 4 was attended by ARTA founders, volunteers, and board members who joined executive director Julia Goren, municipal leaders, and commissioners of the NYS DEC, OGS, and regional leadership from DOT. Visit: adirondackrailtrail.org.

“Get Offline, Get Outside” Challenge

ALBANY – Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of a new challenge that encourages New York’s kids and families to put down their phones and take a break from social media to have fun outdoors. The NYS DEC’s Get Offline, Get Outside Challenge is part of the state’s efforts to help address the youth mental health crisis by encouraging teens to engage in interesting and exciting outdoor activities.

The challenge includes 50 activities such as fishing, birding, starting a nature journal, identifying five tree species, going for a bike ride and learning about hunting safety. The challenge is designed to be completed by anyone and encourages participants to try new activities and visit new parks, forests, wildlife management areas and other outdoor locations in their communities and across the state.

To complete the challenge, youth ages 12-18 should complete all 50 activities before turning 19. Participants are then eligible to receive a commemorative sticker, certificate, and prizes to celebrate their accomplishment. Examples of activities on the Challenge list: Walk, run or roll a mile; learn to cast a fishing rod; set up a tent; identify an animal by their tracks; grow something from a seed; try a new hiking trail or nature walk; visit a body of water; and much more. 

In New York, only 20 percent of children ages 6-17 participate in 60 minutes of physical activity daily. The percentage of high school students who meet this guideline has decreased significantly over the past 10 years, from 25 percent in 2011 to 19 percent in 2021. 

At the same time, numerous studies in the U.S. and around the world are exploring the health benefits of spending time outside in nature and green spaces, particularly in forests. Exposure to forests and trees has been shown to boost the immune system; lower blood pressure; reduce stress; improve mood; increase ability to focus, even in children with ADHD; accelerate recovery from surgery or illness; increase energy level; and improve sleep. Spending time outdoors builds children’s confidence, promotes creativity and imagination, teaches responsibility, provides different stimulation, gets kids moving, makes them think and reduces stress and fatigue. Visit: dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/get-offline-get-outside.

Stifel Lake Placid Finals XC Ski World Cup 

LAKE PLACID – The NYS Olympic Authority announced that tickets are on sale for the Stifel Lake Placid Finals, a Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup, set for March 20-22, 2026, at Mt Van Hoevenberg. 

This marks the first Cross-Country World Cup Finals ever held in the U.S. and the long-awaited return of World Cup racing to Lake Placid for the first time since 1979. Following the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, Feb. 6-22, the Stifel Lake Placid Finals will close out the 2025-26 World Cup season with marquee races for men and women on Friday, March 20: 10K Interval Start Classic; Saturday, March 21: Sprint Freestyle; and Sunday, March 22: 20K Mass Start Freestyle.

The event is expected to feature some of the sport’s biggest stars, including three-time Olympic medalist and American icon Jessie Diggins. Other international standouts include Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, a five-time Crystal Globe winner, and Sweden’s Jonna Sundling, who won three medals at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Lake Placid, host of the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Winter Games, becomes only the second U.S. venue since 2001 to stage an FIS Cross-Country World Cup event, following the 2024 Loppet Cup in Minneapolis. The season’s coveted Crystal Globes will be awarded to the overall World Cup standings leaders following the races in Lake Placid.

A strong American team will be led by Jessie Diggins, the most decorated XC skier in U.S. history. She has won at every level of the sport, including three Olympic medals (gold, silver, bronze), three overall World Cup titles, seven World Championships medals, and two Tour de Ski victories. U.S. skiers Rosie Brennan, Sophia Laukli, Gus Schumacher, Ben Ogden, and Julia Kern have also experienced success internationally.

The Stifel Lake Placid Finals will take place on the trails at Mt Van Hoevenberg. Now a modern multisport complex, the venue features 55 kilometers of groomed XC skiing trails, a homologated World Cup stadium, state-of-the-art snowmaking, and the Mountain Pass Lodge. Recent upgrades have allowed Mt Van Hoevenberg to host major events such as the 2023 FISU World University Games, NCAA Championships, and last year’s U.S. SuperTour Finals. Visit: mtvanhoevenberg.com.