NoTrace
08-14-2007, 01:38 PM
This second trip (for me) up the slide was not as enjoyable as my first gig five or six years ago. Left St. Huberts at 9 am, two companions in tow, or vice-versa. Rick, one of the three, didn't sleep well, and decided to bail out when we got to Elk Pass. That left Alan and I to head down the drainage to the base of the slide.
Salient differences from five-six years ago: The slide seems much more overgrown than it was back then. It was also wet from recent rain, and we hadn't packed rock shoes/sneakers, so the going was dicey at times. Because of the overgrowth, we missed the right (correct) lobe, and started up the left side, which is bogus (a stream), once we topped the footwall.
Seemed like a long, hard climb, and the top of the slide is definitely not a "gimme". A bitchin' series of moves is needed to get up and into the turf, and off the rock. Met Rick on the summit at 3:20, and departed the summit at 4 pm. Back to the car, completely dehydrated, at 8:15pm.
Would love to post pics, but they're way too big for the rules of the road here.
Salient differences from five-six years ago: The slide seems much more overgrown than it was back then. It was also wet from recent rain, and we hadn't packed rock shoes/sneakers, so the going was dicey at times. Because of the overgrowth, we missed the right (correct) lobe, and started up the left side, which is bogus (a stream), once we topped the footwall.
Seemed like a long, hard climb, and the top of the slide is definitely not a "gimme". A bitchin' series of moves is needed to get up and into the turf, and off the rock. Met Rick on the summit at 3:20, and departed the summit at 4 pm. Back to the car, completely dehydrated, at 8:15pm.
Would love to post pics, but they're way too big for the rules of the road here.