tripyramid slide

My lab did the North Slide many years ago. I don't recall any issues with it, she always did fine on slabs, better than on loose rock (like the South). I actually got a cool picture of her bracing herself on the slide, her back was level and her legs were at the slide angle. I didn't leash her on slides, and found that she would always find a way around what to do.

That being said, we did have to lower her down some ladders on the CannonBalls (can't recall the trail). That was, umm, interesting.......

I personally think the North Slide is harder than Owl's Head and was one of the harder trails I've done (and I have been on most of the difficult trails in the Whites except Six Husbands and Sphinx).

For me, the difficulty was the sustained level of ledges. It is not a trail with occasional scrambles mixed in with steep climbing. It is a constant set of fairly steep slabs for a very lengthy stretch, in many cases with no tree roots or anything to grab onto. You need to be comfortable using minimal hand and footholds and using your body leverage. The lower 1/3 of the trail is the most difficult and on a wet day I would avoid this trail. Make sure you keep your boots dry and free of debris.

I hike solo and did this trail alone and it is certainly doable but be prepared and cautious.

Thanks. good advice something to consider.

Agree with DayTrip. I have done the North Slide both in the rain and in the winter (it's actually easiest in the winter IMO). But only the start is the more difficult part and then it eases up considerably. Staying to the left allows you to work your way through some small trees, which results in less exposure and esier climbing.

Owl's Head is a rubble slide; N Tri is a slab slide. Very different. The lower bit is often wet and mossy and @#$; the higher bit is probably more difficult, but makes up for it in driness. Harder than Flume IMO; as DayTrip says, it's a constant climb without a lot of chances to plant your feet on level ground. Easier than the PAtN slide, maybe similar difficulty to Coe; although steeper, there are more features.

When I did N Tri, Porkchop and Paprika raced up and wondered what was taking the rest of us so long, but not your average dogs...

jniehof said:

Owl's Head is a rubble slide; N Tri is a slab slide. Very different. The lower bit is often wet and mossy and @#$; the higher bit is probably more difficult, but makes up for it in driness.

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The composition of the north slide change a bit after Irene. It used to be slabby all the way up, but now the upper portions contain a lot more loose rock. The lower portion is more solid ledge (and tends to be wetter in the drainage. The year after Irene all the newly busted rock was still bright pink, but it has slowly become bleached. The south slide use to be a lot more sandy/gravely but now is more loose rock. The two slides are much more similar than they used to be. I still think that the persistent wetness of the Flume Slide makes it more dangerous, but I've only done it once and it nearly killed me so I might be biased.