BIGEarl
Well-known member
May 7, 2011: Tripyramids via North Slide
Trails: Livermore Road, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Scaur Ridge Trail
Summits: North Tripyramid, Middle Tripyramid
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The forecast for the day wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. The experts were predicting a difficult afternoon with scattered showers and thunder so we decided to start a little earlier than necessary to hopefully beat the bad weather. We definitely wanted to be off the slide before the thunder arrived. On the way into town, the Waterville Valley Welcoming Committee was standing at the side of Tripoli Road to greet us but decided to wander into the nearby woods after posing for a few pictures. We arrived to the Livermore Trailhead to find only one vehicle already there – probably the dog-walker we met within a quarter mile of the trailhead.
Our warm-up for the day was 3.6 miles on Livermore Road. Even though a long road walk at the start, and end of the hike doesn’t seem that great the scenery along the way is outstanding. The spring flowers are starting to open, the streams are still high with the runoff from melting snow, and the open hardwoods are always a treat. Our plan was to climb North Tripyramid via the North Slide. At the Livermore – Mt. Tripyramid north trails junction we made the turn, left the road walk, and the fun was about to start.
Livermore was completely clear and dry. Soon after starting Mt. Tripyramid Trail we found patches of snow. Slowly we came to a more consistent amount on the trail and a short distance before reaching the bottom of the slide the trail was generally covered with snow and ice, but the monorail wasn’t bad. The first concern we found was snow conditions. The bottom ~1/4 to 1/3 of the slide was completely covered with snow. This section is semi sheltered and in summer is mainly a section of slippery ledge and rocks – wet, green, slippery ledge and rocks. Right now it’s white, but there’s running water underneath the snow making the place one huge deteriorating snow bridge. We considered bushwhacking along the side of the slide to get above the snow but it was too far and too thick. We went with snowshoes and planned to simply head straight up the slide. The snow gave way a couple times but the approach generally worked well. Soon we were approaching the top of the snow and ice.
Above the snow, the slide had enough wet areas to require increased attention to foot placement and route selection. In summer, on a generally dry surface it’s simply a matter of just climb. Right now we needed to give a little extra consideration to our route. We favored the left side on our climb. This choice had us climbing through areas of snow and ice that could have been avoided by staying in the center or right, but we had lots of handholds to work with on our route. Eventually, we made it above the wet slabs, remaining ice, and we were on the upper half of the slide enjoying terrific sun and outstanding views. We found some comfortable rocks and took a break to enjoy the views. After a while we noticed a couple others down at the bottom area working their way through the snow and ice. We decided it was time to get moving and got back into the climb.
The rest of the slide was clear and dry. We made our way to the big cairn at the top and headed back into the conifers for the final short climb to the summit. We were able to bare boot the short section to the Pine Bend Brook junction and summit of North Tripyramid. We got the usual summit pictures and kept moving. We were still concerned with difficult conditions coming during the afternoon and wanted to at least be on our hike down before they arrived.
We took off for Middle Tripyramid. A short distance after leaving North Tripyramid we stopped to get the snowshoes. We had a pretty good monorail and the snow on each side was still deep, and soft. We completed the hike to Middle Tripyramid with very little bare ground along the way. On the steep climb to the summit there was also very little ice. We had an easy climb to the summit on our MSR’s. After the usual summit routine Sue pulled out some cookies and we had a snack on the outlook and enjoyed the view over Waterville Valley. While we were there we could see a storm approaching from the southwest, there were also areas of very dark clouds coming from the west. It was time to get moving back to North Tripyramid.
The MSR’s handled the descent from Middle Tripyramid without any problem, but the real test would be descending from North Tripyramid. We completed the short walk back to the north peak and started down. There was ice, but not nearly the amount of ice that I expected. The warm conditions left the ice soft and the MSR’s were able to get a firm bite as we descended the trail. Leaving the north peak was generally a “just walk” operation. The trail was torn up by bare booters but most of the damage was off the monorail; we were able to stay on the monorail and stay on top. At the Scaur Ridge – Pine Bend Brook trails junction we stopped for the usual snowman distraction. Sue went to work and came up with a nice one.
We left the trails junction carrying our snowshoes and soon stopped to lash them onto our packs; we were done with the snowshoes for the day. The hike back down to Livermore Road was through snow and ice that became spotty as we lost elevation. When we left the conifers we left the snow and ice behind as well. The remaining 4+ miles was on bare and mostly dry ground.
Back at the Livermore trailhead, we were still working with dry conditions. It is good the weather experts were again wrong, we ran a little later than planned but still managed to stay dry. We packed our things and were soon on the highway south.
Thanks Sue, climbing the North Tripyramid Slide is always a fun way to spend the day.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Livermore Road, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Scaur Ridge Trail
Summits: North Tripyramid, Middle Tripyramid
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
The forecast for the day wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. The experts were predicting a difficult afternoon with scattered showers and thunder so we decided to start a little earlier than necessary to hopefully beat the bad weather. We definitely wanted to be off the slide before the thunder arrived. On the way into town, the Waterville Valley Welcoming Committee was standing at the side of Tripoli Road to greet us but decided to wander into the nearby woods after posing for a few pictures. We arrived to the Livermore Trailhead to find only one vehicle already there – probably the dog-walker we met within a quarter mile of the trailhead.
Our warm-up for the day was 3.6 miles on Livermore Road. Even though a long road walk at the start, and end of the hike doesn’t seem that great the scenery along the way is outstanding. The spring flowers are starting to open, the streams are still high with the runoff from melting snow, and the open hardwoods are always a treat. Our plan was to climb North Tripyramid via the North Slide. At the Livermore – Mt. Tripyramid north trails junction we made the turn, left the road walk, and the fun was about to start.
Livermore was completely clear and dry. Soon after starting Mt. Tripyramid Trail we found patches of snow. Slowly we came to a more consistent amount on the trail and a short distance before reaching the bottom of the slide the trail was generally covered with snow and ice, but the monorail wasn’t bad. The first concern we found was snow conditions. The bottom ~1/4 to 1/3 of the slide was completely covered with snow. This section is semi sheltered and in summer is mainly a section of slippery ledge and rocks – wet, green, slippery ledge and rocks. Right now it’s white, but there’s running water underneath the snow making the place one huge deteriorating snow bridge. We considered bushwhacking along the side of the slide to get above the snow but it was too far and too thick. We went with snowshoes and planned to simply head straight up the slide. The snow gave way a couple times but the approach generally worked well. Soon we were approaching the top of the snow and ice.
Above the snow, the slide had enough wet areas to require increased attention to foot placement and route selection. In summer, on a generally dry surface it’s simply a matter of just climb. Right now we needed to give a little extra consideration to our route. We favored the left side on our climb. This choice had us climbing through areas of snow and ice that could have been avoided by staying in the center or right, but we had lots of handholds to work with on our route. Eventually, we made it above the wet slabs, remaining ice, and we were on the upper half of the slide enjoying terrific sun and outstanding views. We found some comfortable rocks and took a break to enjoy the views. After a while we noticed a couple others down at the bottom area working their way through the snow and ice. We decided it was time to get moving and got back into the climb.
The rest of the slide was clear and dry. We made our way to the big cairn at the top and headed back into the conifers for the final short climb to the summit. We were able to bare boot the short section to the Pine Bend Brook junction and summit of North Tripyramid. We got the usual summit pictures and kept moving. We were still concerned with difficult conditions coming during the afternoon and wanted to at least be on our hike down before they arrived.
We took off for Middle Tripyramid. A short distance after leaving North Tripyramid we stopped to get the snowshoes. We had a pretty good monorail and the snow on each side was still deep, and soft. We completed the hike to Middle Tripyramid with very little bare ground along the way. On the steep climb to the summit there was also very little ice. We had an easy climb to the summit on our MSR’s. After the usual summit routine Sue pulled out some cookies and we had a snack on the outlook and enjoyed the view over Waterville Valley. While we were there we could see a storm approaching from the southwest, there were also areas of very dark clouds coming from the west. It was time to get moving back to North Tripyramid.
The MSR’s handled the descent from Middle Tripyramid without any problem, but the real test would be descending from North Tripyramid. We completed the short walk back to the north peak and started down. There was ice, but not nearly the amount of ice that I expected. The warm conditions left the ice soft and the MSR’s were able to get a firm bite as we descended the trail. Leaving the north peak was generally a “just walk” operation. The trail was torn up by bare booters but most of the damage was off the monorail; we were able to stay on the monorail and stay on top. At the Scaur Ridge – Pine Bend Brook trails junction we stopped for the usual snowman distraction. Sue went to work and came up with a nice one.
We left the trails junction carrying our snowshoes and soon stopped to lash them onto our packs; we were done with the snowshoes for the day. The hike back down to Livermore Road was through snow and ice that became spotty as we lost elevation. When we left the conifers we left the snow and ice behind as well. The remaining 4+ miles was on bare and mostly dry ground.
Back at the Livermore trailhead, we were still working with dry conditions. It is good the weather experts were again wrong, we ran a little later than planned but still managed to stay dry. We packed our things and were soon on the highway south.
Thanks Sue, climbing the North Tripyramid Slide is always a fun way to spend the day.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Last edited:
