adktyler
Active member
Stokel and I climbed this slide last Thursday, and had a blast. It's pretty interesting because there are no known TRs of this newer slide, and we may have logged a first ascent. Still waiting to hear back from Jim Lawyer on that one.
Here is Stokel's excellent report:
"This trip really began on Wednesday morning, when Tyler called me up asking if I wanted to go hiking Thursday or Friday. Seeing as I was busy Friday, I figured I could make Thursday work by getting out of work on said Thursday. I was able to, and consequently spent most of my Wednesday looking at possible route opportunities for what we’ll deem the “Great White Slide.” By the end of the day I had all my anticipated waypoints plugged into the GPS.
So, we agreed to meet 7AM at St. Huberts. Must have been a popular trailhead that day, as 3 cars pulled right in before me! Tyler was already there. We packed up, and were hiking by 7:05. Much to [my] selfish relief, we saw that no one else had signed in for UWJ yet, and definitely not via the new slide that has sparked some curiosity as of late.
After about an hour we were at Beaver Meadow Falls where we took some pictures. 30 minutes up the trail we began to look for the campsite described in the Adirondack Rock guidebook, but we either missed it or it’s not there anymore. Upon realizing this, we began the bushwhack to acquire the drainage that we would follow for the rest of the ascent.
The drainage is interesting in the part that it wants to guide you to the left over and over again. With the exception of the first intersection, you want to go right. Tyler and I took just about every left we shouldn’t have, but quickly realized these mistakes and whacked over to the proper drainage.
The drainage varied from smooth and slabby to bouldery to blow-down. But for the most part, it remained easily navigable. If we were to use a compass (which we didn’t….sorry hard-core types), we would want to travel as due east as possible (see the trip log in the first post or in the pictures linked to below).
We cruised pretty well through this and reached the first pseudo-slide at about 2.5 hours. We took a break here, ate some food, took pictures, and then continued up. Shortly after this we began to look for places to exit left to acquire the slide. This section was very rugged (steep ups) with very dead blow-down that broke under weight. But it was a short trip, and the thrashing was well worth it to make it to the slide and see we can come out right at the bottom! (Credit to Tyler: he took off with the whack and eventually I called out to him to figure where he was. He must do this bushwhacking thing a lot….)
The slide was just as beautiful as it looks from a distance. And I was ecstatic that it was not vertical. I had been fully prepared to get to and be like “yeah, we need ropes.” But that was not the case, as the slide began at a gentle 30 degrees. And clean too! The rock has not yet been covered in dirt or lichen, which is why it is so white compared to its adjacent brethren. (The slide began at about 3400’).
The first half of the slide was smooth sailing with the occasional stop to take pictures of interesting features in the slide and the backdrop of the Adirondacks. Views of Giant, Noonmark, Dix, and Dial eventually came into view. About halfway up, the real “fun” began. And by “fun” I mean “crux.” I was in sticky approach shoes, which definitely helped. Tyler switched to bare feet. But anyway, there was a steep section (by here we’re closer to 35-40 degrees) where lichen had begun to take over. This lichen also has a thin layer of dirt under it so it’s hardly friction-esque. After some decent delicate footwork and balance, this section was navigated and the rest of the slide was easy, but steeper.
The final section has a 45-50ish degree headwall, which I climbed. In hindsight, I probably should have been in rock shoes because a misplaced step would have sent me clear way to the bottom. Tyler was wiser and took to the trees for this last 50 feet of the slide. Upon reaching the top, we were greeted with thin alpine trees in a decent concentration. We took a moment to take pictures and congratulate ourselves on the ascent. We wrapped around the backside of the last tree island, skirted up a steep section holding onto trees, and then began a 200 yard bushwhack to acquire the Range Trail.
We made it to the summit of UWJ at 11:15, just a little over 4 hours from our start. Again we congratulated ourselves, ate lunch, took pictures, and then began the trip back down via the Wedge Brook Trail.
The trip down is hardly worth noting, so I won’t.
Overall, it was pretty exciting to be in the Adirondacks (as usual), but also to climb what we currently believe is the first ascent of this slide. (I’m waiting on an official word from Jim Lawyer.) Tyler, as usual, was great to hike with, and the weather couldn't have been better.
For those who just want to the basic details, here’s the beta:
Slide start elevation: ~3400’
Slide end elevation: ~4000’
Slide duration: ~0.6ish miles?
Approach whack: pretty good. Watch for dead blow-down that breaks under weight.
Summit whack: tighter, but not impenetrable.
Pitch: 30 degrees slowly scooping to 45 degrees.
Grade: somewhere between 3rd and 4th class.
Are there more route possibilities: yes, but much lichen would need to be cleaned. The left side is covered, the right side is too. There’s a middle section that’s the best. The darker rocks (what existed before 2007) to the right is not a slide, rather, it’s several cliffs.
Worth it: yes, if you like a remote approach to a common peak. Nowhere near the ease, accessibility, or splendor of Trap Dike, but certainly not a terrible slide at all.
Trip length: 11.6 miles in 7:05 hours.
Pictures here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578407930yrehvU
Sorry, I haven't added captions. I might get to that at some point."
Here are my pictures: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=2079403&id=1437080151
Here are my videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfAFwSWMUDo & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB6Kz9XW0y8
Here is more info about the slide: http://forums.adkhighpeaks.com/showthread.php?t=12019
Here is the link to the other TR: http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12280
Enjoy!
Here is Stokel's excellent report:
"This trip really began on Wednesday morning, when Tyler called me up asking if I wanted to go hiking Thursday or Friday. Seeing as I was busy Friday, I figured I could make Thursday work by getting out of work on said Thursday. I was able to, and consequently spent most of my Wednesday looking at possible route opportunities for what we’ll deem the “Great White Slide.” By the end of the day I had all my anticipated waypoints plugged into the GPS.
So, we agreed to meet 7AM at St. Huberts. Must have been a popular trailhead that day, as 3 cars pulled right in before me! Tyler was already there. We packed up, and were hiking by 7:05. Much to [my] selfish relief, we saw that no one else had signed in for UWJ yet, and definitely not via the new slide that has sparked some curiosity as of late.
After about an hour we were at Beaver Meadow Falls where we took some pictures. 30 minutes up the trail we began to look for the campsite described in the Adirondack Rock guidebook, but we either missed it or it’s not there anymore. Upon realizing this, we began the bushwhack to acquire the drainage that we would follow for the rest of the ascent.
The drainage is interesting in the part that it wants to guide you to the left over and over again. With the exception of the first intersection, you want to go right. Tyler and I took just about every left we shouldn’t have, but quickly realized these mistakes and whacked over to the proper drainage.
The drainage varied from smooth and slabby to bouldery to blow-down. But for the most part, it remained easily navigable. If we were to use a compass (which we didn’t….sorry hard-core types), we would want to travel as due east as possible (see the trip log in the first post or in the pictures linked to below).
We cruised pretty well through this and reached the first pseudo-slide at about 2.5 hours. We took a break here, ate some food, took pictures, and then continued up. Shortly after this we began to look for places to exit left to acquire the slide. This section was very rugged (steep ups) with very dead blow-down that broke under weight. But it was a short trip, and the thrashing was well worth it to make it to the slide and see we can come out right at the bottom! (Credit to Tyler: he took off with the whack and eventually I called out to him to figure where he was. He must do this bushwhacking thing a lot….)
The slide was just as beautiful as it looks from a distance. And I was ecstatic that it was not vertical. I had been fully prepared to get to and be like “yeah, we need ropes.” But that was not the case, as the slide began at a gentle 30 degrees. And clean too! The rock has not yet been covered in dirt or lichen, which is why it is so white compared to its adjacent brethren. (The slide began at about 3400’).
The first half of the slide was smooth sailing with the occasional stop to take pictures of interesting features in the slide and the backdrop of the Adirondacks. Views of Giant, Noonmark, Dix, and Dial eventually came into view. About halfway up, the real “fun” began. And by “fun” I mean “crux.” I was in sticky approach shoes, which definitely helped. Tyler switched to bare feet. But anyway, there was a steep section (by here we’re closer to 35-40 degrees) where lichen had begun to take over. This lichen also has a thin layer of dirt under it so it’s hardly friction-esque. After some decent delicate footwork and balance, this section was navigated and the rest of the slide was easy, but steeper.
The final section has a 45-50ish degree headwall, which I climbed. In hindsight, I probably should have been in rock shoes because a misplaced step would have sent me clear way to the bottom. Tyler was wiser and took to the trees for this last 50 feet of the slide. Upon reaching the top, we were greeted with thin alpine trees in a decent concentration. We took a moment to take pictures and congratulate ourselves on the ascent. We wrapped around the backside of the last tree island, skirted up a steep section holding onto trees, and then began a 200 yard bushwhack to acquire the Range Trail.
We made it to the summit of UWJ at 11:15, just a little over 4 hours from our start. Again we congratulated ourselves, ate lunch, took pictures, and then began the trip back down via the Wedge Brook Trail.
The trip down is hardly worth noting, so I won’t.
Overall, it was pretty exciting to be in the Adirondacks (as usual), but also to climb what we currently believe is the first ascent of this slide. (I’m waiting on an official word from Jim Lawyer.) Tyler, as usual, was great to hike with, and the weather couldn't have been better.
For those who just want to the basic details, here’s the beta:
Slide start elevation: ~3400’
Slide end elevation: ~4000’
Slide duration: ~0.6ish miles?
Approach whack: pretty good. Watch for dead blow-down that breaks under weight.
Summit whack: tighter, but not impenetrable.
Pitch: 30 degrees slowly scooping to 45 degrees.
Grade: somewhere between 3rd and 4th class.
Are there more route possibilities: yes, but much lichen would need to be cleaned. The left side is covered, the right side is too. There’s a middle section that’s the best. The darker rocks (what existed before 2007) to the right is not a slide, rather, it’s several cliffs.
Worth it: yes, if you like a remote approach to a common peak. Nowhere near the ease, accessibility, or splendor of Trap Dike, but certainly not a terrible slide at all.
Trip length: 11.6 miles in 7:05 hours.
Pictures here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578407930yrehvU
Sorry, I haven't added captions. I might get to that at some point."
Here are my pictures: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=2079403&id=1437080151
Here are my videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfAFwSWMUDo & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB6Kz9XW0y8
Here is more info about the slide: http://forums.adkhighpeaks.com/showthread.php?t=12019
Here is the link to the other TR: http://www.adkhighpeaks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12280
Enjoy!
