Rockslide on Webster Cliff Trail

[Unregistered]

We (AMC Pinkham Front Desk) received a report from a hiker who was on the Webster Cliff Trail earlier today and he stated that he was "just below the good view" when he heard a loud rumbling sound that lasted for a while. He continued to hike down and about 3 minutes later came across a "massive rock slide" which went across the trail. He stated that it was "a tough crossing" to get by and he put a sign at the trailhead to warn others. He believes you can see the slide area from the highway.

 

[TDawg]

Innnnnterestingggg........

 

[wardsgirl]

MadRiver....?

 

[sardog1]

Thanks for posting this report!

 

[MichaelJ]

Wow. That's one lucky hiker to have not been moving 3 minutes faster. I look forward to any photos anyone has of the area!

 

[NewHampshire]

I guess it is a good thing said hiker was not 3 minutes faster!

Brian

 

[MadRiver]

Hmmm sounds like I have some work to do. I will have to check it out this weekend. Thanks for the report.

 

[Mattl]

Someone please post a picture if you go by!

 

[MadRiver]

I'm heading up Saturday to take a look before submitting a report so I will take a few photos.

 

[MadRiver]

Here are some photos of the slide. It is crossable, albeit with care. The top of the slide still has a number of large boulders that could still come down under the right conditions. So if you cross the debris field, do it quickly.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21163&id=1450265390&l=9ff3d5b492

 

[1HappyHiker]

Wow! What a mess!!

Just curious . . . since this trail is part of the AT, will the clean-up perhaps be done a bit quicker than maybe it would be for a non-AT trail?

 

[slevasse]

Just curious roughly where this is located if you were looking at Webster from the notch road?

 

[MadRiver]

Just curious roughly where this is located if you were looking at Webster from the notch road?

This section is south off Mt. Webster. It is abbout 1 mile up from route 302 via the Webster Cliff Trail. My main concern is the stability of the remaining boulders up top.

 

[Seeker]

Wow. Thanks Pinkham for the heads up and MR for the pics.

 

[TDawg]

Thanks for the pics, MadRiver.

Interesting cleavage on that on boulder in pic 8 (just left of center) and 9 (right).

 

[MadRiver]

Thanks for the pics, MadRiver.

Interesting cleavage on that on boulder in pic 8 (just left of center) and 9 (right).

I was tempted to walk out onto the boulders and see if I could dislodge that one in pic 8, but came to my senses and realized it might not be a smart move especially since I was alone. It looks like it will fall without too much effort.

 

[wardsgirl]

Um, good idea MadRiver! I have also forwarded this info to the AMC trails dept. Thanks everyone, and please be careful if you visit this area.

 

[Jazzbo]

Thanks to all for posting and sharing. One of the big kicks I get being member of this sight is how it's so "cutting edge" cool. Other adjectives I can think of are "happening", "vibrant" etc. Thanks to all for all you do!

Meanwhile I'd say Forest Sevice has a management challenge consisting or whether or not to close this trail. Judging from pictures and MR's comments slide looks pretty pretty shaky. I really can't imagine a cleanup ... could be great deal of technical issues difficult to quantify involving risk to the public, liability. Very sensitive as it is the AT after all and every year there's 100's of thru hikers. Or is this part of Crawford Notch State Park? Right near the boundary from looking at the map. Interesting to see how this develops.

 

[1HappyHiker]

I'd say Forest Sevice has a management challenge consisting or whether or not to close this trail. Judging from pictures and MR's comments slide looks pretty pretty shaky. I really can't imagine a cleanup ... could be great deal of technical issues difficult to quantify involving risk to the public, liability. Very sensitive as it is the AT after all and every year there's 100's of thru hikers. Or is this part of Crawford Notch State Park? Right near the boundary from looking at the map. Interesting to see how this develops.

I agree with Jazzbo’s commentary about this, and this was the reason behind my earlier question in this thread where I basically asked if there would be any special urgency to rectify this situation since this trail is part of the Appalachian Trail. It’s merely a curiosity question. Perhaps no one knows the answer at this point in time.

 

[NewHampshire]

My guess is clean up will be a long, drawn out process. Partly for safety sake, but also partly due to the seriously hard work that will be needed (the AMC pro croo are only so many and there are A LOT of projects every year that need to be done). If anything my guess is the ATC will reroute if necessary. Lets face it, the ATC has never hald qualms about randomly rerouting to fit the trails needs in the past.....

Brian