LOCALadk Magazine

RON Ron Rakowski is a watercolor artist specializing in capturing scenes of the Adirondacks. Many subjects are centered around the Old Forge area including the local ski hill, McCauley Mountain, area buildings, and favorite vistas. He spends his summers painting with the Old Forge-based plein air painting group "Mountain Air Painters." SUZIE, SALLY, LORI, AND LAUREN Suzie Wickes grew up in Latham, New York and worked in Management as a Cost Accountant. Growing up she was always outside watching her dad and brother work on the toys they would bring home. Later in life her brother and sister-in-law, asked her to take a snowmobile trip with them. That was the beginning of her obsession with snowmobiling. Suzie's other passion is volleyball. She competes in the Empire State, National and Huntsman World Senior Games. AURORA Aurora Pfaff delights in living in Saranac Lake with her husband and spoiled cats. Working for a sustainable tourism non-profit, she writes extensively about local history, Santa, and stargazing. She has a Master's degree in English from Harvard University and is currently working towards getting her private pilot's license. MICHAEL Michael Virtanen is a freelance writer. He is a former Associated Press correspondent in Morgantown, W.Va., and New York 's Capitol. He authored two Adirondack novels — "Within a Forest Dark " and "The River's Tale" — both from Lost Pond Press in Saranac Lake. Sally Gangell grew up in Western Massachusetts and after college moved to the Saratoga Springs area. She loves to hike, bike and ski but snowmobiling is her true passion. She grew up riding Ski-Doo's with her family and later got back into it to ride with her Dad. Suzie and Sally met through a mutual friend who knew they both loved to snowmobile. They were together from that point on and retired to Old Forge in 2020 with their Golden Retriever, Oliver. Lori Scheuermann was born and raised in Warwick, NY and was employed by the New York Air National Guard for 32 years. Lauren Beach grew up in Rhinebeck, NY and was a sheet metal worker in the lower Hudson Valley. Lured to the Adirondacks by skiing at Gore, they bought an off the grid property in Bakers Mills and built a small camp. In 2007, the couple found their ideal location and purchased in Old Forge where they now reside full time with their Labrador Retrievers. CAITLIN & NATE Originally from the coast of Maine, Caitlin Kelly studied creative writing and environmental studies at St. Lawrence University. She has spent the past few years working with the DEC doing search & rescue, education, trailwork, and other stewardship. She is a skier and freelance writer, with work appearing in Powder, Freeskier, The Ski Journal, Outside, Ski Magazine, and Adirondack Life, among other publications. Nate Trachte attended National Sports Academy, competing as an alpine ski racer. He fell in love with backcountry skiing while attending Fort Lewis College. He has a Master's Degree in Environmental Education from Western Washington University. When not in the field teaching you can find him outside, rediscovering his home mountain range.

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