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roomchailimited · 3 months ago

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Winter Sports and Cozy Escapes: North America’s Best Winter Destinations

Winter in North America transforms the continent into a wonderland of snow-capped mountains, frozen lakes, and cozy hideaways. Whether you’re a thrill-seeker looking for the best slopes or someone who enjoys a serene retreat by a roaring fire, North America offers a myriad of winter destinations that cater to every type of traveler. From the majestic Rockies to the charming towns of New England, let's explore the top winter sports and cozy escape spots across the continent.

Whistler, British Columbia: A Skiing Paradise

Whistler is synonymous with world-class skiing and snowboarding. Nestled in the Coast Mountains, this resort town offers over 8,000 acres of skiable terrain, making it a haven for winter sports enthusiasts. The combination of powdery snow, well-maintained slopes, and breathtaking views attracts visitors from all over the world. After a day on the slopes, visitors can unwind in Whistler Village, where a range of cozy lodges, gourmet restaurants, and vibrant après-ski spots await.

Aspen, Colorado: Glamour in the Rockies

Aspen is more than just a ski resort; it's a winter experience steeped in luxury and charm. Known for its four distinct ski areas—Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass—Aspen caters to skiers and snowboarders of all levels. Beyond the slopes, Aspen's historic town offers high-end shopping, fine dining, and an arts scene that thrives even in winter. Cozy up in one of the town’s chic hotels or lodges and soak in the mountain views from the warmth of a hot tub.

Lake Placid, New York: Olympic Legacy and Small-Town Charm

Famous for hosting the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980, Lake Placid is a small town with a big winter sports reputation. Located in the Adirondacks, it offers visitors a chance to skate on the Olympic Oval, ski at Whiteface Mountain, or try their hand at bobsledding. The town itself is a picturesque escape, with quaint inns and cozy cabins perfect for a winter retreat. After a day of adventure, warm up with a hot cocoa by the fire and enjoy the quiet serenity of this historic town.

Banff, Alberta: Nature’s Winter Wonderland

Banff is a magical winter destination, set in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The town is surrounded by Banff National Park, offering stunning landscapes of snow-covered peaks, frozen lakes, and dense forests. Skiers and snowboarders flock to the nearby resorts of Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, and Mount Norquay, while others enjoy ice skating, snowshoeing, and wildlife watching. Banff’s cozy mountain lodges, with their rustic charm and warm fireplaces, provide the perfect escape after a day in the snow.

Stowe, Vermont: Quintessential New England Winter

Stowe epitomizes New England’s winter charm. This small town, nestled in the Green Mountains, is famous for its classic ski slopes and cross-country trails. Stowe Mountain Resort offers challenging runs and picturesque views, while the town itself is a haven for those seeking a cozy escape. With its historic inns, charming shops, and gourmet restaurants, Stowe is the perfect blend of adventure and relaxation. The town’s quintessential New England ambiance makes it a favorite among winter travelers.

Mont-Tremblant, Quebec: French-Canadian Charm

Located in the Laurentian Mountains, Mont-Tremblant is a top winter destination in Eastern Canada. The resort boasts a European-style pedestrian village with colorful buildings, making it as picturesque as it is exciting. Skiers and snowboarders can explore the diverse terrain, while non-skiers can enjoy activities like ice skating, dog sledding, and snowshoeing. After a day in the snow, visitors can indulge in French-Canadian cuisine and cozy up in one of the village’s charming accommodations.

Conclusion

Winter in North America offers a diverse range of experiences, from thrilling sports to serene escapes. Whether you’re drawn to the slopes of Whistler, the luxury of Aspen, or the quaint charm of Stowe, there’s a winter destination that’s perfect for you. As the snow falls and the landscape transforms, embrace the magic of the season with Roomchai Limited, your guide to unforgettable winter adventures across North America.

#roomchailimited #travel #traveltips #dhakatravel #bangladeshitravelers #travelagencies #gozayaan #sharetrip #europe #obokash #winter #america

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citylifeorg · 3 months ago

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Three World Cup Events Coming to Lake Placid

World Championships and World Cups in Three Different Sports on 2024-25 Schedule Bid To Host Milano Cortina 2026 Contends To Become Back-Up Venue for Bobsled, Luge and Skeleton Events Lake Placid – Home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games – Continues To Attract World’s Best Athletes to New York State Builds on Governor’s Commitment to Supporting New York’s $123 Billion Tourism…

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xtruss · 4 months ago

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The Olympics Have A Dirty History—Literally! But A Green Sports Movement Is Pushing For Change, Eager To See If Paris Will Be Different.

— July 20, 2024 | By Madeleine Orr, University of Toronto | Foreign Policy

The wind blows a plastic bag past the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing on January 23, 2008. Guang Niu/Getty Images

In April 1929, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) met in Lausanne, Switzerland, to grant the hosting rights for the 1932 Winter Olympic Games. The United States was the frontrunner, and seven U.S. candidate sites showed up to bid: Bear Mountain and Lake Placid, New York; Denver, Colorado; Duluth, Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Valley, California. For many small mountain towns, this would be their shot to generate the investment dollars needed to build new winter sport infrastructure and secure a strong tourism industry in a very economically fragile time—the start of the Great Depression.

This article is adapted from Warming Up: How Climate Change Is Changing Sport by Madeleine Orr (Bloomsbury, 320 pp., $25.20, May 2024).

Godfrey Dewey, vice president of the exclusive Lake Placid Club (and son of the inventor of the Dewey Decimal Classification System for library books) was the lead administrator of the town’s bid. Dewey made a series of lofty promises—chief among them, a new Olympic sliding track for bobsled. Then-New York Gov. (and later U.S. president) Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote letters in support of the project, turning the small New York town into a frontrunner.

It all seemed promising, until Lake Placid secured hosting rights and things got messy.

Dewey’s planned bobsled run was to be on the Lake Placid Club’s site, within the protected Adirondack Forest Preserve. The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks led a legal complaint in New York State courts, claiming that the project went against the “forever wild” clause of the state’s constitution, which maintains that state lands “constituting the forest preserve…shall be forever kept as wild forest lands.”

The U.S. four-man bobsleigh team shoots a curve on the run at Lake Placid, New York, on February 16, 1932. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

A two-year legal battle ensued. Environmental activists routinely protested and made noise in the press. Eventually, the New York State Court of Appeals held that a statute authorizing the construction of a bobsled run, requiring the destruction of 5,122 trees, was unconstitutional. Dewey and the organizing committee were forced to find a location elsewhere. They settled on a site just outside the Forest Preserve boundary.

That kind of pressure from environmental groups has never gone away. In nearly every Olympic host city since, there has been what sport sociologist Jules Boykoff calls the “NOlympic movement”—organized groups of people who do not want these large, damaging events to come to town. Over time, these movements gained momentum and media attention, eventually reaching Olympic decision-makers and creating public pressure to effect positive green change. But this process would take decades.

A lone celebrant views a tally board at the Denver Olympic Committee victory headquarters in Colorado on November 7, 1972, after voters rejected funding of the 1976 Winter Olympics. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Fast forward to 1970. Denver was awarded the hosting rights for the 1976 Winter Olympics. It was billed as an ideal opportunity to celebrate the United States’ bicentennial and Colorado’s centennial anniversaries. But it took less than a year for the Games to be met with major dissent from local politicians. Months after the hosting rights were awarded to the city, State Rep. Bob Jackson told the Associated Press, “We ought to say to the nation and the world, ‘We’re sorry, we are concerned about the environment. We made a mistake. Take the Games elsewhere.’”

Dick Lamm, another state representative, told Ski Magazine, “Every time I ask a question about ecology, the Olympic people tell me, ‘Don’t worry, we are going to take care of that.’ But a state which has never taken down as much as a single billboard to improve the environment is not going to run an Olympics which the ecologists would like.” By 1972, the city withdrew from hosting and the Games were moved to Innsbruck, Austria, which had held the event in 1964 and had most facilities ready to go.

Germany also saw environmental groups put pressure on—and ultimately shut down—the Olympics over environmental concerns. In 1983, the mayor and local tourism director of Berchtesgaden announced a bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics. Almost immediately, a local citizens’ initiative was organized against it, and successfully campaigned to shut down the bid. That edition of the Winter Games was hosted by Albertville, France.

Amanda Shuman, a historian at the University of Freiburg, has been studying how the Berchtesgaden citizens’ initiative was contextually different from those that preceded it in other countries. She and I work together through the Sport Ecology Group, so I called her to get the background story.

“The early 1980s were a unique time for the environmental movement in Germany. Acid rain was at the top of everyone’s mind because Der Spiegel, the country’s biggest magazine, decided to run a series of exposés on forest death with pretty aggressive headlines like ‘The Forest is Dying,’” Shuman said. “At the same time, the newly formed Green Party rode that wave of public concern into their first seats in Parliament. Environmental groups watched this happen and were emboldened to act on different issues because there was more visibility and political support for their work.”

Shuman argues that historically, anti-sport development efforts went against the political grain, as politicians routinely used sporting mega-events as a platform-building opportunity. But in 1970s Colorado, and again in 1980s Germany, there was some degree of political support behind anti-Olympics campaigns.

The opening ceremony of the Lillehammer Winter Olympics in Norway on February 12, 1994. Pascal Rondeau/AllSport/Getty Images

Despite repeated involvement and pressure by environmental groups to slow, move, or shut down sport development and big events through the 20th century, it wasn’t until the 1990s that sports organizations took up the mantle of environmental action themselves.

In 1992, the same year that the word “sustainability” entered the global lexicon at the United Nations Earth Summit in Brazil, the IOC was facing challenges with the perceptions of the Olympics following the Albertville Winter Games, which were dubbed an “environmental catastrophe” in the local news given the extraordinary distance between the different venues. The event was so spread out geographically that athletes and spectators drove through the mountains from one town to the next, clogging up the roadways and polluting an otherwise quiet area of France.

After Albertville, the IOC knew it had to act to strengthen its reputation on environmental issues and align more closely with growing global concerns about the climate. It’s still not clear whether the IOC has succeeded at improving its record or reputation on environmental work.

The 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, are viewed as the first attempt to create a “green” Olympic Games. It was a tall order. After the environmental wreckage at Albertville, local activists in Lillehammer forced the organizing committee to adapt their hosting plans based on environmental concerns. The changes included a redesigned speed-skating rink that minimized impacts on a nearby bird sanctuary, a plan to prioritize the use of renewable building materials, energy-efficiency upgrades for facilities, and a recycling program at all venues.

The 1990s were a supercharged decade for sustainability across all sports, not just the Olympic Games. In 1993, the National Football League in the United States launched their NFL Green campaign, which has seen every subsequent Super Bowl implement waste management and nature restoration projects. In 1994, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) created its Sports and Environment Program to promote environmental awareness through sports and sustainable design principles in sports facilities and equipment manufacturing. Also that year, the Centennial Olympic Congress of Paris named the environment a “third pillar” of the Olympic charter, alongside sport and culture.

Later in the 1990s, the UNEP worked with the IOC to develop an “Agenda 21” for the Olympic Movement based on sustainability guidelines created by delegates at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. (The document’s publication was sponsored by Shell.) The IOC committed itself to promoting sustainability among its 206 member nations and 30 governing bodies for winter and summer sports, and to require sustainability plans from the hosts of its marquee events. This is only a commitment to “encourage” sustainability, though, not to mandate it. The IOC does not control operations among its members. Despite these ambitions, the process of implementation has been a roller-coaster, with several sharp turns off-course.

For the first 20 years of the green sports movement, from about 1992 to 2012, the focus was on operational improvements: reducing waste, switching to energy-efficient lighting, using less water, and measuring carbon footprints. These efforts were impactful. Consider how much toilet paper is used in a stadium with hundreds of toilets—it’s a lot. Finding a toilet paper provider that uses recycled paper instead of fresh forests is a meaningful improvement.

The washroom inside the National Aquatics Center, where swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming Olympic events were held, in Beijing on January 28, 2008. Feng Li/Getty Images

Or think about the water savings that can be achieved by implementing an irrigation system that cuts water use from 60,000 liters per night to 50,000. In one year, the facility will reduce its water consumption by more than 4.1 million liters. That’s enough water to fill three Olympic-size swimming pools. But these efforts can be hard to communicate to fans and do little to leverage sports’ sizeable platform to inspire fans to act on climate change and build popular support for action.

A 2021 study published by Martin Müller and colleagues at the University of Lausanne developed a model to evaluate the environmental sustainability of Olympic Games hosted between 1992 and 2020. It found that Salt Lake City in 2002 was the most sustainable, while more recent iterations in Sochi, Russia, in 2014 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016 were the least sustainable. Part of the challenge for the IOC is that each host country is operating within its own sets of definitions, limitations, and government priorities, so sustainability often takes a back seat to tourism development and growth plans.

Cyclists ride over a road sign demarcating a Paris 2024 bike lane along the Rue de Rivoli in Paris on July 3. Julien De Rosa/AFP Via Getty Images

Some of the Most Exciting Work on Sustainability is Coming Out of the Paris 2024 Olympic Committee, which promises a carbon-positive Games. The French capital has banned non-essential through traffic from its city center effective in 2024, making 5.4 square miles of the city straddling both sides of the Seine much greener and cleaner. They are also adding bike lanes and bus routes, and 95 percent of the venues will be existing facilities or temporary builds, so only two new builds are needed. We haven’t seen anything better than this. Still, there will be loads of tourists (it’s Paris, there are always tourists), so the organizers have committed to offsetting all remaining emissions.

I have been outspoken in recent years about how I don’t think it’s possible to have a carbon-positive Olympic Games—and that this language is misleading and potentially detrimental to the broader movement. It’s great to see the ambition to be very low-impact, but “carbon-positive” is just not realistic in the context of an international sporting event with hundreds of thousands of tourists and participants.

Overall, though, the green sports movement is decidedly on the right track. Reflecting on the progress to date in the United States, environmental scientist Allen Hershkowitz—once dubbed the “Godfather of Green Sports”—said in a podcast interview in 2021, “I think, actually, over the last 10 years, the sport and sustainability movement has been one of the most effective sectors in the environmental advocacy world, especially in North America, where our government has been outright hostile to environmental progress.”

From where I’m standing, it’s clear a lot more has been happening in green sports in recent years. The sector is moving forward, and moving together. Now we have to pick up the pace.

— Madeleine Orr is an Assistant Professor of Sport Ecology at the University of Toronto. She is the Founder of the Sport Ecology Group and the Author of the recent book Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sport.

#Foreign Policy #Olympics #Dirty History #Green Sports Movement #Paris Olympics #Madeleine Orr | Assistant Professor | Sport Ecology | University of Toronto | Canada 🇨🇦 🍁#Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sport

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ifelllikeastar · 5 months ago

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Eddie Eagan was an American boxer and bobsledder who is notable as being the only person to win a gold medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in different disciplines. Eagan won his summer gold in boxing (light heavyweight) and his winter gold in four-man bobsled. These medals were for boxing at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp and in bobsledding at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

Eagan set a world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by scheduled airlines on December 13, 1948. He traveled 20,559 miles stopping at 18 different stations and beat the previous record by 20 hours and 15 minutes.

Born Edward Patrick Francis Eagan on April 26, 1897 in Denver, Colorado and died on June 14, 1967 in New York City at the age of 70.

#eddie egan #love #boxing #bobsled #olympics #lake placid #world record #colorado #new york

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adk-almanack-mirror · 9 months ago

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#ADK #Adirondacks #Adirondack Almanack #Adirondack Park

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newenglandsept2023 · 1 year ago

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Day 1, Tues Sept 5, 2023: Toronto + Gananoque, Ont. to Carthage + Lake Placid, NY, 565 kms. I did most of the packing last night, so I was only half an hour late getting out this AM, LOL. Take 401 to Gananoque (circa 286 kms), where I turn south to catch the bridge to New York State. The Thousand Islands International Bridge was built in 1938 and spans the St Lawrence River East of Kingston. It is actually one of the busiest bridges between Ontario and New York, but luckily, I just breeze through. Well, luck and timing - it's the day after Labour Day.

As soon as I pass customs, I turn off the main road towards Watertown and Carthage. It's all back roads the entire way. I see lots of small towns, farms, mountains, and lakes and drive past unmissable Fort Drum. Fort Drum is a full spectrum training facility servicing 11 states and Canada and puts through more than 26,500 military trainees per year.

As I reach Carthage (circa 378 kms), pop 3,300, I start looking around for a good lunch spot. I spot the Wicked Wench and head in for a bite that turns out to be a cold beer and some pretzels. I sit at the bar as per usual and come out with 5 new friends and some great directions to Lake Placid.

Highway 3 runs mostly eastward toward Lake Placid through the Adirondaks. It is a beautiful winding and climbing road with very little traffic - a motorcycle rider's dream. I arrive in Lake Placid (circa 555 kms) around 3:30. It's an ideal time that gives me time to wash the bike, explore, and find dinner. Lake Placid's pop is only 2,300, but it is a popular and busy summer, fall, and winter playground. Hitting above its weight, it has actually hosted the 1932 and 1980 Winter Oympics.

I find a dinner spot overlooking the lake, but interestingly, the town of Lake Placid actually overlooks Mirror Lake. The actual Lake Placid is a little further north and almost entirely ringed by private residences, making it largely inaccessible to the general public.

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drjamesjwoytash · 1 year ago

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Popular Hiking Destinations in New York State

Nearly 59 million Americans went hiking at least once in 2021, while 10.3 million people embarked on a backpacking excursion, according to results from the 2022 Outdoor Participation Trends Report released in March 2023. There is a wide range of physical and mental health benefits associated with hiking, from improved muscle and bone strength to decreased levels of stress and anxiety. Hiking enthusiasts in the state of New York have a number of popular hiking areas to choose from, including the Catskill Mountains, Lake Placid, the Finger Lakes, Bear Mountain State Park, and Watkins Glen State Park.

The Catskill Mountains are located in the southeastern part of the state between Albany and New York City. Encompassing some 700,000 acres, the region provides thousands of miles of diverse hiking trails. Families with young children can find plenty of quiet trails winding peacefully through the forests, while more adventurous hikers can take on the Catskill 3500 Club, which consists of 33 climbs all exceeding 3,500 feet in elevation. Popular trails include Giant Ledge, a moderately challenging climb that provides some of the most sweeping views in the Catskills, and the Ashokan Rail Trail, an 11.5-mile trail compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains known as the host of the 1932 and the 1980 Winter Olympics and the home of the 2,170-acre lake of the same name. In addition to various aquatic activities in and on the lake, hikers can take advantage of the 20-plus miles of challenging terrain, not to mention additional hiking locations throughout the Adirondacks. Like the Catskills, Lake Placid maintains an informal club for hikers interested in taking on the region’s 46 iconic peaks. That said, there are a number of trails better suited to families and hikers more interested in relaxing and taking in the scenery.

The Finger Lakes are a five-hour drive not just from New York City, but nearby metropolitan hubs such as Washington, DC, Boston, and Philadelphia, making it an attractive destination for hikers throughout the Northeast. The trail system features more than 1,000 miles of trails, including the 950-mile-long Finger Lakes Trail (FLT). The FLT begins in Allegheny State Park at the border of Pennsylvania and runs into the Catskill Forest Preserve. Backpackers can extend the route to Niagara Falls, the Great Eastern Trail, and other multi-day treks.

Bear Mountain State Park is situated alongside the Hudson River. The park consists of dozens of trails for hikers of various skill levels, from the moderate 3.8-mile Bear Mountain Loop Trail to the challenging Perkins Memorial Tower climb, which takes most hikers over two hours to complete despite spanning just 3.4 miles. The Perkins Memorial Tower route provides hikers direct access to the Appalachian Trail.

Finally, Watkins Glen State Park is a park in the Finger Lakes region. Hikers can visit parks.ny.gov and download a trail map. The map includes recommended hikes that guide hikers to 19 waterfalls. Trails include straightforward paths like Lover’s Lane as well as more challenging climbs, such as Jacob’s Ladder and the North Rim Trail.

#Dr. James J. Woytash

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