Adirondack Peeks Summer 2025

Tony, Win, and Mickey eating Rocky Peak Ridge Sandwiches—taken by Nancie Battaglia.

in Littleton, New Hampshire, a private boarding school. My brother taught at a private boarding school, and my father taught at a private day school, so I thought I was supposed to be a teacher like the rest of the family. The White Mountain School wasn’t a good fit for me, but I loved the mountains, so I came back to the Adirondacks with the expectation that I would teach. I got an MA in history in 1980 and was certified to teach social studies in New York State when I was asked to be the venue manager on the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1980 Winter Olympics for cross country and biathlon. After the Olympics, I was a substitute teacher and working part-time with a contractor doing carpentry. That’s when I was asked to come back and manage the cross-country skiing and biathlon events at Mount Van Hoevenberg. That sounded more fun than substitute teaching and I had some ideas of how Mount Van Hoevenberg could improve their recreational skiing. So that’s what I chose to do. I spent four years as the venue manager and left in 1985.

Today the highlines technique remains the standard at ATIS as it is at other high-end trail crews.

years so there were several deferred maintenance jobs to do, such as signs, bridges, and ladders. Once I got those items taken care of, Tom sent a crew from the mountain club over with all their tools, and they spent the day with us on the Noonmark trail; I figured it was the most important trail for us to start on. We had quite the learning curve ahead! The ATIS trail crew continued to get better, and their image significantly improved. When ADK started using highlines (a pulley system), it was a year or so before I realized how helpful they could be. I got help from Tim Tierney, then the trail crew chief of ADK, and ordered all the equipment needed including a heavy-duty winch, slings and shackles. Today the highlines technique remains the standard at ATIS as it is at other high-end trail crews. SR: You grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, spent your summers in Keene, and at the age of 26, you transitioned full time to the Adirondacks. What spurred that decision? TG: After the army I was the ski coach at Williams College; it was a placeholder position, so it was temporary. After that I taught for two years at the White Mountain School

I thought I was supposed to be a teacher like the rest of the family.

By then we had started our family, my wife was working, and we really felt comfortable in the Adirondacks. I had edited my first edition of the ADK guidebook and wanted

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