Lecture Series

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Lecture Series

The ADIRONDACK MOUNTAIN CLUB (ADK) offers a wide variety of educational and cultural topics intended to increase awareness and appreciation of the environment, including presentations on natural history, backcountry recreation, and Adirondack art, music, and history for your enjoyment.

Many thanks to Stewart's Shops based in Saratoga Springs, New York, for sponsoring ADK's Lecture Series and exhibits. Stewart’s has been a generous supporter of ADK’s educational efforts since 1986.

More Information:

Lectures at the High Peaks Information Center (HPIC)
Lectures at ADK's Member Services Center (MSC)
Lectures at John Brooks Lodge (JBL)

High Peaks Information Center (HPIC) Lecture Series, Heart Lake Program Center

The ADIRONDACK MOUNTAIN CLUB (ADK) offers presentations on natural history, backcountry recreation, and Adirondack art, music, and history for your enjoyment.

The programs take place on Saturday evenings at 8:00p.m. in the High Peaks Information Center (HPIC) located near Heart Lake at the end of the Adirondak Loj Road, eight miles outside of Lake Placid, NY. All programs are open to the public and are free of charge. For more information, call 518-523-3441.
Directions to Heart Lake

Winter Travel and Preparedness

January 5 Pete Fish

Retired Forest Ranger Pete Fish will give a talk on how to be prepared for the worst on a winter trek. Learn about the winter essentials, footwear requirements, and stories from a Forest Ranger’s perspective.

The Land of Kings-The Spectacular Wildlife of South Georgia
January 12 Larry Master
The island of South Georgia is renowned for its wildlife. The sheer abundance of penguins, seals, and albatrosses which gather annually to breed along South Georgia’s coastal fringe makes the island one of the most remarkable wildlife spectacles on the planet. Join professional photographer Larry Master as he shares the images and sounds of this remarkable place, and discuss its past and possible future.

Adirondacks Alive
January 19 Don Mellor and Olaf Soot
Join Olaf Soot one of American mountaineering’s best respected photographers, and Don Mellor mountaineer and author, for an intimate look at the mountains of the Adirondacks. Mellor and Soot are nearing completion of a photo-essay tour of the high places from the Brooks Range and Alaska’s North Slope all the way down the continents to the southern tip at Tierra del Fuego. Their presentation will follow Soot’s Adirondack photography with Mellor’s discussions about the place, the adventures, and the meaning of traveling in the Adirondack high country.

Adirondack Mammals
January 26 Andrew Joachim
Come join Andrew Joachim as he discusses Adirondack mammal winter survival. Joachim will explore the physical, behavioral and physiological adaptations that allow these mammals to live through the harsh winter Adirondack climate. Learn about natural history, elevation and other geographic stresses that mammals have to contend with in order to live another year, and walk away with a better respect for and understanding of animal survival.

Acoustic Music
February 2 Steve Langdon
Join us for a night of soulful, hard-driving acoustic blues, traditional and original tunes on guitar and harmonica. Steve Langdon’s music is a mix of Piedmont and Delta Blues, Bluegrass, Irish tunes and finger-style originals. Langdon has played in northern Europe with the Professor Washboard Band as well as in his North Country homeland. Tonight’s performance is guaranteed to be a toe tappin’ good time!

Avalanche Awareness: Avalanches in the Adirondacks
February 9 Jim Giglinto
The Adirondack Mountains are not without their winter hazards. Tonight, New York State Eastern High Peaks Forest Ranger Jim Giglinto, will discuss some of the factors influencing avalanches and the history of avalanches occurring in the Adirondack Backcountry. Giglinto has been a Forest Ranger since 1992, is a member of the American Avalanche Association, and understands the risks involved with backcountry winter travel. His informative program guarantees to send us all home with a basic understanding of avalanche danger.

A Trip to the Galapagos Islands
February 16 Frank Lescinsky
Join Frank Lescinsky on a journey to the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos are part of Ecuador, 600 miles into the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of South America. Come enjoy an evening of ecological splendor, and take a peek at volcanoes, giant cactus, beautiful flowers, marine and land iguanas, lizards, fish, coral, pelicans, boobies, Darwin’s finches and much more!

People and the Park: How we’ve shaped the Adirondacks we see today

February 23 Mike Brennan
Join Adirondack Park Agency Environmental Educator Mike Brennan for a look at how New Yorkers have worked to preserve and protect the Adirondack Park. Brennan will focus on historical uses, as well as the steps taken to assure the park’s place as a model for conservation in the future.

The Life of a Beaver Family
March 1 Tom Kalinowski
The beaver is the largest North American rodent, and can significantly transform a slow moving brook or woodland stream into a sizable pond in a few short months. Join retired High School science teacher Tom Kalinowski, and learn about some of the well known habits, as well as some of the lesser known aspects of beaver life.

Inspired by Wilderness, Part II
March 8 Sandy Hildreth
Local artist Sandra Hildreth will share historic paintings that were inspired by the Adirondack Wilderness, the Catskills, the Hudson Valley, and even the Canadian “Group of Seven”. She will also examine the role the Arts played in the creation of the Adirondack Park and the impact they continue to have on both residents and tourists. Sandra will exhibit examples of her own landscape paintings and “Adirondack Mandalas.”

Acoustic Music
March 15 Annie and the Hedonists
Come and enjoy an evening of entertainment from Annie and the Hedonists, a band with a great lead singer and tight harmonies. Their music covers an eclectic mix of acoustic folk, torchy blues, standards, bluegrass, gospel, early jazz and more!

Backcountry Bears
March 22 Ed Reed
New York State’s DEC big game biologist Ed Reed, will give a presentation on Black Bear natural history, conflicts and problems between bears and backcountry users, the DEC’s High Peaks Wilderness Bear Project results, and the newly enacted bear-resistant canister regulation.

Stewart's Shops, based in Saratoga Springs, NY., has been a generous supporter of ADK's educational efforts since 1986.

ADK Member Services Center Lecture Series (MSC)

The Adirondack Mountain Club's Lecture Series offers a wide variety of educational and cultural topics intended to increase awareness and appreciation of the environment.

Lectures 2008
Adirondack Mountain Club

Lake George MSC
Tuesdays at 7:00 pm

June 10 Amazing Meadows – Gerry Lemmo (Professional Photographer)

July 8 Alpine Americas – Don Mellor & Olaf Soot (Authors)

Aug. 12 Back Country Preparedness – Pete Fish (Retired Forest Ranger)

Sept. 9 Be Wise on Owls – Nancy Kimball (North Country Wildlife Rescue)

Oct. 14 Adirondack Environmental Landscaping – Bert Weber (Teacher)

All ADK lectures are free and open to the public, but reservations are required. For all lectures please call ADK at 518-668-4447 to make a reservation. Lectures begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. Reservations required. Seating is limited so reserve today!

ADK's Members Services Center is located 1/2 mile south of the Adirondack Northway (Route 87) at Exit 21 on Route 9N South.

Johns Brook Lodge Lecture Series (JBL)

If you have never been to Johns Brook Lodge (JBL), or it has been a while, why not visit and attend one of the programs listed below. JBL is accessible only by a 3.5 -mile hike from Keene Valley. These programs begin at 8 PM and are held in the main lodge. All programs are free and open to the public.

Please check back in May.

Stewart's Shops, based in Saratoga Springs, NY., has been a generous supporter of ADK's educational efforts since 1986.