A visit to the massive slide on the north ridge of Mt. Whiteface, far up the Downes Brook valley, had been on my wish list for this winter. Postings by Tim Lucia and Pam Wilmot from a group hike to East Sleeper for a winter New England Hundred Highest finish (congratulations David Darby!) told of a well-established snowshoe track and solid snow bridges for the many crossings of Downes Brook. Photos taken at the bottom of the slide showed a spectacular, sun-drenched snow slope. Monday, March 8 was a magnificent sunny day with temperatures in the 20s and virtually no
wind. With an impending thaw that could undermine the snow bridges, this was the day to visit the slide.
One of the nine crossings of Downes Brook on the 4.5 mile hike in.
Snow bridges don't get any better.
At 1.4 miles, into the Wilderness.
Easy grades along an old logging road leading up the valley. Thanks to the East Sleeper group for making a fine snowshoe track, a solid base with a nice little soft layer on top.
Snow load on a blowdown.
A moose didn't remember its snowshoes.
Mid-stream snow sculpture.
Between the 8th and 9th crossings there is a narrow sidehill section high above the brook, somewhat like the infamous sidehill on Hale Brook Trail but less severe.
An old logging camp site from the days of the Swift River Railroad (1906-1916). With three feet of snow, no artifacts were visible.
Reaching the bottom of the slide at 2840 ft., just across the valley from the Downes Brook Trail. This monster slide is celebrating its 100th anniversary, as it fell in 1920 or 1921. According to 1920s editions of the AMC White Mountain Guide, it wiped out the old logging road for a mile downstream from its base. Two adjacent smaller slides, one to the north and another to the south, presumably were triggered by the same storm.
Zoom on the upper slide, which tops out at 3400 ft.
The bottom of the slide is one of the steepest parts.
Looking up, the slide presents a vast snowfield. In the open, exposed area, there was a thin crust over a bit of sugar snow, with a bulletproof crust beneath. Mindful of the sliding accident on the South Slide of Tripyramid last weekend (wishing the patient a speedy recovery), I chose to ascend partway up along the scrubby edge of the slide.
Looking down on the way up.
After a short climb the slide offered a view north to the Wildcats and Carter Dome beyond Mt. Tremont and Bartlett Haystack.
What a place!
One could go for a long slide out there.
I brought my ice axe out of mothballs for this trip.
I stomped down with my MSR Evo Ascents to make a track out to a vantage point, sending shards of thin crust skittering noisily down the slope.
The long north ridge of East Sleeper closes in the valley on the west side.
Picking a route up through the protecting scrub.
It's deep!
Reaching my high point a bit over 3000 ft.
Pretty good slope angle here.
Mt. Washington now added to the view.
Washington and Boott Spur behind Mt. Tremont.
Heading out along the base of the slide, with afternoon shadows creeping up the slope.
On the way out I visited the lower part of this narrow slide a short distance north of the big slide, seen here from the Downes Brook Trail.
A beautiful firm snowy chute, overlooked by some old yellow birches, led up to the slide.
Steep pitches on either side of this boulder prompted a detour into the woods to climb higher.
A generally friendly forest alongside this slide.
I emerged at the base of the lowest and largest ledge slab of the slide, probably wet and slick in summer. It was tempting to go back into the woods and ascend to the top of the slab, but the hour was late and I had a long walk out.
Looking back across the valley from the base of the slab.
On the way back, I couldn't resist a quick side trip up the tributary brookbed, following some frozen crusty ski tracks, to the lower end of the better-known Downes Brook (Passaconaway) Slide.
I paused briefly to admire the northern crags of Mt. Passaconaway, then headed for home.
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