Mount Clough Slides: 10/11/24

At any time of year, Tunnel Brook Notch, the deep gap between Mount Moosilauke and Mount Clough, is one of my favorite places in the White Mountains. It especially shines during foliage season. Much of the trail passes through hardwood forest, and the lower slopes within the notch surrounding the half-dozen beaver ponds are ablaze with color. Plus, it is removed from the foliage madness along the Kanc Highway and in the notches. My plan was to ascend partway up at least one of the nine slides on the steep east face of Mount Clough for views over the notch and the beaver ponds. I ended up enjoying outstanding views from two of the slides on a day that started out gloomy but  turned into a gorgeous sunny October afternoon.

Golden walking along the southern approach on Tunnel Brook Trail.

A gray morning at Mud Pond. Moosilauke solidly socked in.

 

A birch log aids in the crossing of Tunnel Brook towards the north end of the beaver ponds.

 

A view of the two largest Clough slides from one of the northern beaver ponds. These are #4 and #5 of the nine, counting from the south. I planned to climb partway up the one on the left, #4, the highest and wildest of the bunch.

While bushwhacking to the base of slide #4, I passed by a train of boulders deposited alongside the runout, known as a debris flow levee.

There are three narrow spines of gravel and stones that were deposited at the base of the slide. This is the middle of the trio, with the steep, ledgy upper slide seen above.

 

Zoom on the upper slide, with red and white pines in the foreground. White pines are more commonly found on slides than red pines.

A lingering bit of red maple color.

These steep ledges were too wet and slick to climb.

Another rubbly section.

 

 

Reaching the ledgy upper half of the slide.

This is one of the steeper slide sections in the White Mountains, with excellent views down to the floor of the notch.

I navigated through some rugged terrain to a flat perch at 2650 ft. I arrived here late morning and settled in to wait for the predicted sunshine to materialize.

Looking promising.

Moosilauke's South Peak almost in the clear.

A coating of rime above ~4200 ft. It melted by early afternoon.

It is steep!

 

 

 

Looking up the upper ledges from my perch.

 

October glory.

I scrambled a little way above my perch on dry, pretty grippy rock.

Looking back at my perch.

Yikes!

Down-look.

It was tempting to scramble higher, but up above, the slope increases to 38 to 40 degrees, where approach shoes would be more appropriate than worn hiking boots.

Looking across to the NW slopes of Moosilauke. The triangle of dark spruce marks the track of a now-revegetated slide that fell in 1927. It's believed that two of the Clough slides fell in 1927, and most of the rest, including #4, in 1942.

 

Parting shot of the view on a perfect autumn afternoon.

Looking back at where I was scrambling (on the dry rock, not the slime!).

A mini-birch glade briefly softens a generally rugged descent back to the trail.

Big ledge steps.

Fractured ledges. This slide has a great variety of terrain.

Where ledge gives way to gravel near the bottom of the slide.

The southern of the three gravel spines.

Beaver pond scene along Tunnel Brook Trail.

I took a break beside this pond, with a view up to South Peak.

Along the Tunnel Brook Trail.

I still had several hours of daylight left, so I decided to revisit the southernmost slide (Slide #1), which came down to the shore of Mud Pond when it fell, probably in 1942. It is mostly revegetated now, save for five open rock slabs, arranged on three levels at intervals of about 150 ft. of elevation. The section of the track shown here is partly revegetated but still 

"slide-y."

Another section of the track leading up to a mid-level slab.

The northern of the two mid-level slabs.

Side view of the southern mid-level slab.

The two upper-level slabs, at ~2700 ft., offered the best views. The southern one was a nice dry ledge perch.

It has a great close-up view of Moosilauke's Slide Ravine.

With a close look, five slide tracks can be spotted. Several more are hidden around the corner to the left.

 

 

Carr Mountain rises in the distance beyond a burst of orange.

 

The northern upper level slab is a very steep swath of rock, with a slope of 40 degrees.

I wormed my way up through dense scrub along the edge to a tiny shelf at the top, where I found a startling view down to Mud Pond.

Mud Pond and Moosilauke together.

 

Headwall of the slide.

Some crazy terrain around these upper level slabs.

Evening at Mud Pond.