Best trail for Tripyramids?

I'm planning to hike the Tripyramids this month, but looking over all of the different trails, I'm not sure which one would be the best choice for this time of year.

Any suggestions for me?

Thanks!
- Ivy

I think most people do this as a loop by going up Livermore Road/Trail. We chose to go up the north slide and down the south, the north being the steeper of the two.

other option...

The livermore route is pretty dicey when wet/icy...your other option is to head up from the kanc...sabbaday brook and pine bend can be combined for a pretty great loop...you can either spot a car, or with only one you're looking at about a mile road walk...sabbaday brook trail has one section of slab that may be a little hairy, but it's a pretty short section...I don't recall any sections of the pine bend trail that would be precarious...both routes have a few water crossings down low that may be iffy this time of year...I did sabbaday up and pine bend down last november and had to bushwack along the brook for about .5 miles...as the water level was high and the few exposed rocks were covered in ice...a very enjoyable trip though...have fun! cheers,

Captain Fantastic

Routes to Tripyramids

I've gone up both peaks by going up Livermore then up the South Slide (easier in icy or wet conditions than North Slide) - across the ridge-into the col between South and Middle Tripyramid-up Middle then across the easy ridge to North Peak. You have to return the same way but it avoids the North Slide. You also avoid the high water on Sabbaday.

You can go up from the Waterville side by taking the Scaur Ridge trail off the Livermore Road. This bypasses the north slide which still may be a mess. If you want to do a loop it may be better to go up South Slide with is easier and more melted out then come down via Scaur Ridge and Livermore Road.

-dave-

Good point! Then you get to glissade down North Peak!! That was a blast as I recall.

Sabbaday, Sleeper and Downes. Bag a hundred highest too! And when you write your trip report, could you let me know how many blowdowns need to be removed from Sleeper?

I was on Livermore Road on Friday. It's still snow packed -- only about two inches or so, with a few thawed mud holes here and there. It was warm enough that it wasn't very icey, sort of a crusted semi-mushy coating.

Thanks so much for all of the info. Right now, I'm tempted at the idea of a glissade down the north peak, so I'm thinking of taking Livermore to the South peak first. (Sorry Stopher, no blowdown list...)

Sounds like I could really take any of the trails, judging from all of the suggestions.

-- Ivy

Are we talking about glissading down the North Slide?

Jim W said:

Are we talking about glissading down the North Slide?

Click to expand...

No, I meant heading down the north peak via scaur ridge.

- Ivy

That's what I hoped you meant.
Have fun. The Tripyramids are awesome.

Sabbaday Brook is a LONG trail. It's close to flat, but really does take forever to traverse. And there are a lot of crossings of Sabbaday Brook - even if you bushwack two of the big ones away, you still have to make the third. My opinion is that it's not a route you want to take during spring's high water.

I just posted a report for the T loop (we did it Sunday). If you need more infos, just ask me.

BTW, at each junctions we crossed, no fresh tracks on all connecting trails, including Kate Sleeper. The only fresh prints we saw were on the approach to the bottom of the South Slide. This hiker must have turned back due to the tiresome conditions encountered by going up that way

Thanks Meo... I've been looking for trip reports, but could only find old ones.

- Ivy

Did it like Dave said a few December's ago in mid-month, not melting but less snow than February. I'd go up South & down Scaur to complete the loop.

Pine Bend Brook Trail has over 2 dozen brook crossings, mostly small but could be tedious in April. Sabbaday Brook Trail has fewer larger crossings, people often fall in including me.

The S Slide-Scaur Ridge route is the best trail route in April in my opinion. I have also bushwhacked to the N-M col from S Slide trail which avoids all steep exposed areas as there are plenty of trees to hang on to.

Jim W said:

Are we talking about glissading down the North Slide?

Click to expand...

It is a blast! Did that a few years back with a buddy so we could work on self arrest at higher speeds. we used 330 feet of 7mm double/dry cord as a precaution and dyneema slings as harnesses (to minimize the drag as compared to real harnesses).

The trick was to run out the slide and arrest just before the cord would get into play....that works out to some 590 feet of running distance. we did a couple of laps....what a hoot.

This past February some pals and I were skiing there. Conditions weren't super, but it was a nice day out. Maybe next year