Rob S
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- Oct 7, 2003
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With yet another nice forecast for the weekend, I wanted to get up to the Cats to climb a couple more hundred highest. Since one buddy is temporarily side-lined with an injury, and the other had some family matters to attend to, I decided to go solo.
First stop was Bellayre. Back in December, I had gotten within about 1000 feet of the actual summit, and then climbed Balsam (from Rider Hollow). This time I figured I’d try from the ski resort. Not surprisingly, there was still a bit of snow on some of the trails. Shortly after my arrival in the parking lot, another guy pulled in, quickly removed some gear and skis from his car, loaded everything on his back, and starting making his way straight up the mountain. Now that is one dedicated skier!
The service road, which is also the Discovery Trail during ski season, doesn’t look all that steep starting this hike. And it’s only an intermediate ski trail at that. Regardless, I found myself huffing and puffing all the way to the ridge. Maybe because the grade is nearly constant, or perhaps because you can always see how much farther you have to go until the next bend in the trail, but I found this walk up to be a great cardio work-out.
Once on the ridge, the grade is then very gentle. And the real summit is only a short distance away, less than 10 minutes. It was very breezy on top, and felt good on my sweaty back. I spent several minutes taking in the 180 degree views; even the Blackheads were visible in the distance.
I didn’t have any particular plan for the walk back down, I just chose what I thought were interesting routes similar to the way I’d choose them while skiing. Ended up combining a black diamond, and a couple of intermediates as I zig-zagged down the mountain. I ended up near the parking lot making a nice 3-mile loop. I didn’t think I’d enjoy this hike as much as I did, but the weather made the difference ….. clear air, blue skies, and awesome views to the north. It would be a decent warm-up for Winnisook.
Arrived at the Slide Mt parking lot and was surprised to see it only about 1/3 full at 10:30 in the morning. On a day like this, I wasn’t even sure if I’d still get a spot. As I left the lot and crossed the road to begin the climb, I had to smile as I watched another car pull into the lot, look at me, and then strain their necks to try to figure out where the hell I was going! They probably thought I was lost.
The hike starts moderately steep, but the woods are very open, with the only impediments being the occasional beech whips and several sets of cliff bands. Typical of the Catskills, this climb alternates between “flat shelves” (loaded with wildflowers!) and steep sections and cliff bands. All of these cliffs were easily negotiable, and I found this part of hike very enjoyable with all the interesting boulders and abundant wildflowers.
Before long, the grade lessens, and the ridge is gained. The trees are not leafed out quite yet, and so a few views through the trees can still be found. Giant Ledge, Slide, and Table stand proudly to the south, while several other more distant peaks can be seen to the north.
The walk along the ridge is pleasant enough. I found a large boulder and made it my lunch spot for way too long. It was a cozy spot with soft dry moss to sit on, and a nice small tree to lean against while hanging my legs over the 12 foot drop. I could have napped here, but the occasional flying pest that wanted in my nose or ear finally prompted me to resume the hike instead of playing Rip Van Winkle.
Within 10 minutes of continuing, I came upon what Alan calls “Stone Henge” in his book. It’s a really neat area, with huge boulders randomly strewn around the mostly wide-open summit of this small bump just west of Winnisook. Spent quite a bit of time here wandering around, checking things out, and unfortunately discovered an empty Heineken bottle which I packed out. I cannot understand how anyone could willingly litter these mountains, especially an area as nice as this.
The summit of Winnisook is not far away at this point, but the summit is guarded by some very steep cliff bands. For the first time during this hike, I actually had to scout to find a way up. My first attempt was unsuccessful; there was no way (without ropes) to ascend further than the first shelf. I then down-climbed about 10 or 12 feet and continued along the cliffs a bit further to my right (south) until I found a chute and a crevice that I thought was negotiable. It was still tricky, but I made it up in one piece.
The remaining walk to the actual summit is easy. The flat, open summit is somewhat similar to the western bump with random boulders scatted about, though not as many, and not as large. Walked another hundred yards further past what I thought was the highest point to be sure there was nothing higher. There wasn’t.
For the trip down, I decided to take a look at the southern side of Winnisook so I wouldn’t have to retrace my steps down the cliff bands on the western side. Approaching the edge, I was impressed with how steep it was. Cliffy in spots, but just extremely steep in others. I decided to go for it. It was so steep, that I had to downclimb sideways, while holding onto the trees. At times I would slide on the dirt or leaves. This would not be a good idea when it’s wet!
I lost over 200 hundred feet of elevation in just a few minutes. After that, the rest of the way back to the parking area was a piece of cake. It was basically the same alternating easily negotiable cliff bands and flat shelves as on the way up. In a moment of carelessness, only half a mile from the lot, I did take one good spill and was lucky to land on my butt and slide on the dirt and mud. After I stopped moving, and once I realized I was unhurt, I laughed out loud and thought to myself: “Muddy Bottom would describe more than just Fran today!”
I managed to stay upright the remainder of the hike, and the Slide Mt parking area soon came into view. Back to the car by 1:45pm, and now the lot was nearly full. Guessing that Slide Mountain saw a lot of visitors today. Was a great day to be out, and weather could not have been better.
- Photos here -
__________________
Formerly known as "i12climbup"
First stop was Bellayre. Back in December, I had gotten within about 1000 feet of the actual summit, and then climbed Balsam (from Rider Hollow). This time I figured I’d try from the ski resort. Not surprisingly, there was still a bit of snow on some of the trails. Shortly after my arrival in the parking lot, another guy pulled in, quickly removed some gear and skis from his car, loaded everything on his back, and starting making his way straight up the mountain. Now that is one dedicated skier!
The service road, which is also the Discovery Trail during ski season, doesn’t look all that steep starting this hike. And it’s only an intermediate ski trail at that. Regardless, I found myself huffing and puffing all the way to the ridge. Maybe because the grade is nearly constant, or perhaps because you can always see how much farther you have to go until the next bend in the trail, but I found this walk up to be a great cardio work-out.
Once on the ridge, the grade is then very gentle. And the real summit is only a short distance away, less than 10 minutes. It was very breezy on top, and felt good on my sweaty back. I spent several minutes taking in the 180 degree views; even the Blackheads were visible in the distance.
I didn’t have any particular plan for the walk back down, I just chose what I thought were interesting routes similar to the way I’d choose them while skiing. Ended up combining a black diamond, and a couple of intermediates as I zig-zagged down the mountain. I ended up near the parking lot making a nice 3-mile loop. I didn’t think I’d enjoy this hike as much as I did, but the weather made the difference ….. clear air, blue skies, and awesome views to the north. It would be a decent warm-up for Winnisook.
Arrived at the Slide Mt parking lot and was surprised to see it only about 1/3 full at 10:30 in the morning. On a day like this, I wasn’t even sure if I’d still get a spot. As I left the lot and crossed the road to begin the climb, I had to smile as I watched another car pull into the lot, look at me, and then strain their necks to try to figure out where the hell I was going! They probably thought I was lost.
The hike starts moderately steep, but the woods are very open, with the only impediments being the occasional beech whips and several sets of cliff bands. Typical of the Catskills, this climb alternates between “flat shelves” (loaded with wildflowers!) and steep sections and cliff bands. All of these cliffs were easily negotiable, and I found this part of hike very enjoyable with all the interesting boulders and abundant wildflowers.
Before long, the grade lessens, and the ridge is gained. The trees are not leafed out quite yet, and so a few views through the trees can still be found. Giant Ledge, Slide, and Table stand proudly to the south, while several other more distant peaks can be seen to the north.
The walk along the ridge is pleasant enough. I found a large boulder and made it my lunch spot for way too long. It was a cozy spot with soft dry moss to sit on, and a nice small tree to lean against while hanging my legs over the 12 foot drop. I could have napped here, but the occasional flying pest that wanted in my nose or ear finally prompted me to resume the hike instead of playing Rip Van Winkle.
Within 10 minutes of continuing, I came upon what Alan calls “Stone Henge” in his book. It’s a really neat area, with huge boulders randomly strewn around the mostly wide-open summit of this small bump just west of Winnisook. Spent quite a bit of time here wandering around, checking things out, and unfortunately discovered an empty Heineken bottle which I packed out. I cannot understand how anyone could willingly litter these mountains, especially an area as nice as this.
The summit of Winnisook is not far away at this point, but the summit is guarded by some very steep cliff bands. For the first time during this hike, I actually had to scout to find a way up. My first attempt was unsuccessful; there was no way (without ropes) to ascend further than the first shelf. I then down-climbed about 10 or 12 feet and continued along the cliffs a bit further to my right (south) until I found a chute and a crevice that I thought was negotiable. It was still tricky, but I made it up in one piece.
The remaining walk to the actual summit is easy. The flat, open summit is somewhat similar to the western bump with random boulders scatted about, though not as many, and not as large. Walked another hundred yards further past what I thought was the highest point to be sure there was nothing higher. There wasn’t.
For the trip down, I decided to take a look at the southern side of Winnisook so I wouldn’t have to retrace my steps down the cliff bands on the western side. Approaching the edge, I was impressed with how steep it was. Cliffy in spots, but just extremely steep in others. I decided to go for it. It was so steep, that I had to downclimb sideways, while holding onto the trees. At times I would slide on the dirt or leaves. This would not be a good idea when it’s wet!
I lost over 200 hundred feet of elevation in just a few minutes. After that, the rest of the way back to the parking area was a piece of cake. It was basically the same alternating easily negotiable cliff bands and flat shelves as on the way up. In a moment of carelessness, only half a mile from the lot, I did take one good spill and was lucky to land on my butt and slide on the dirt and mud. After I stopped moving, and once I realized I was unhurt, I laughed out loud and thought to myself: “Muddy Bottom would describe more than just Fran today!”
I managed to stay upright the remainder of the hike, and the Slide Mt parking area soon came into view. Back to the car by 1:45pm, and now the lot was nearly full. Guessing that Slide Mountain saw a lot of visitors today. Was a great day to be out, and weather could not have been better.
- Photos here -
__________________
Formerly known as "i12climbup"
