Posts Tagged ‘Slide Climbing’

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Slide Climbing: Dix Mountain’s New Lobster Claw Slide

Kevin "MudRat" MacKenzie photographs the new Lobster Claw Slide on Dix Mountain.Several periods of heavy rain during June and July of 2013 caused local flooding and damage across New York and Vermont. The rains also added a new slide to Dix Mountain’s already impressive collection.

Two swaths of stone were exposed on the west side of Dix’ curved southern ridge. Converging below, the debris cut a channel of devastation through the forest toward Dix Pond (see inset in picture below). If you’re in the mood for a fresh adventure in a remote location, this may be your ticket to an exciting day in the Adirondack backcountry.

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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Phil Brown: The Best Trek In The Adirondacks

Will high in dikeTrap Dike or Eagle Slide? Like many hikers, I long wavered as to which is the better adventure. After climbing the dike last week, though, I’d rate it the best hike/scramble in the Adirondacks.

For me, the question was settled by Tropical Storm Irene. In August 2011, Irene’s deluge triggered a new slide that leads from the Trap Dike to the summit of Mount Colden and scoured the dike itself clean of vegetation and rubble.

As a result, from Avalanche Lake, hikers climb roughly three-quarters of a mile over clean rock, ascending 1,850 feet.

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Saturday, June 29, 2013

50 Years Ago: The 1963 Giant Mountain Landslide

One of the many cars caught by the flood on Route 73

One of the many cars caught by the flood on Route 73

Fifty years ago, on June 29, 1963, a thunderstorm stalled over Giant Mountain. Heavy rain saturated the thin soil near its summit, gradually weakening its hold on the smooth anorthosite surface.

It was a Saturday: several hikers and campers were on the mountain. Three thousand feet below, traffic – some of it from a wedding just over in Keene Valley — passed up and down the long hill on Route 73 that offers a glimpse of Giant’s Roaring Brook Falls. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, June 27, 2013

Slide Climbing: Gothics Rainbow Slide

On Gothics Rainbow SlideThe remote east face of Gothics Mountain, home of the Rainbow Slide, is a stunning destination for both technical slide climbing and scrambling. It is not for the beginner,  but those accustomed to back country navigation and exposure on mixed climbing conditions.

The sections of the face from lowest to highest elevation include a low-angle slide over 500 feet long, a technical slab that’s home to three routes rated 5.5 to 5.7 in the Yosemite Decimal System and runs of moss-laden bedrock leading up toward the summit. The three segments can be linked together to form a single challenging ascent. » Continue Reading.


Friday, June 7, 2013

Slide Climbing: Hitting The Bottle On Giant Mountain

Kevin climbing the Bottle Slide. Photo by Phil Brown.For slide climbers the most popular route on Giant’s west cirque is the Eagle, which gets five stars in Adirondack Rock—the guidebook’s highest rating for the overall quality of a climb. But another, longer slide known as the Bottle offers just as much adventure, especially if you finish by climbing the cliff at the end.

Phil Brown and I climbed the Bottle this past Saturday. A week prior, all the slides in the west cirque were covered in white after a late-season snowfall, but with the recent summery weather, we enjoyed dry rock all the way to the summit.

The Bottle Slide (which Adirondack Rock awards three stars) is the northernmost slide on Giant’s west cirque. Along with several other slides, this 1,300-foot run was created in June 1963 by a localized downpour. The generally moderate slope (around 30 degrees) and low exposure lines make it an easier alternative to the steeper Eagle.

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