Slide Mountain in Winter (03-18-2011)

As we drove north the previous day, I was relieved to see almost no evidence of snow even after we had crossed over the NY state line other than what had been piled up by plows near the edge of parking lots. The snow was really only a concern because neither of us had snowshoes and I wasn't sure if I wanted to take on that additional expense just for the short time that we would be up here. Checking out the weather forecast in the morning, we knew to expect uncharacteristically warm weather throughout the day, but as we drove into the higher elevations, it was obvious that it was still winter up there as the temperatures dipped and we saw how much snow was still on the ground.


At the Slide Mountain trailhead, I had some initial concerns (that Sandy had actually noticed and asked me about it) that started to seep in after I took a quick trip through the snow and behind a tree for a little privacy to "take care of some business." I was sinking in two feet with each step, making me start to question my equipment choices. To add to it, we then watched several other hikers don their snowshoes, but after signing into the trail ledger, I finally got my first glimpse of what appeared to be a packed down trail leading up the mountain.


Now... I wish that Kahtoola would give me a promotional perk for saying this, but their Micro-Spikes (even though they do look like a "Medieval" torture device) are really the best quality slip-on footwear for traction on hard packed snow or most ice conditions available. If you're not climbing Mt. Everest and the current conditions don't require "full crampons" and an ice axe, you will feel totally secure while climbing with this equipment.

Slide Mountain - The weather was great. You can't beat temperatures in the 60's when you are heading to the top of the highest mountain in the Catskills in mid-March. Other than the initial water crossings, (see Sandy's picture above on right) we didn't have any issues to slow us down. When approaching the summit from the front side of Slide, the trail is mostly a moderate climb and easy to follow. We made it to the top in less than two hours, and after a couple of great photo-ops, we worked our way back down.

First Winter climb out of the way, only three more to go... After getting a later than initially desired start, doing a second climb on the same day wasn't an option, so we checked into the Alpine Inn, cleaned up and headed to town for some pizza.