Mountain Wandering: Getting the Willies

WILLEY SLIDE 200TH ANNIVERSARY and A CLIMB OF MOUNT WILLEY

August 28th marked the 200th Anniversary of the infamous Willey Slide of 1826, a landmark event in the history of the White Mountains. Roaring down the steep slope of Mt. Willey during an epic rainstorm, this catastrophic slide killed nine people - the family of Samuel Willey and two hired hands. The Willey Slide split around rocks above the Willey family home, sparing it from destruction, but ironically the occupants were caught in the massive debris flow while fleeing towards a nearby shelter the family had built after witnessing a previous slide. The tragic tale captured the public imagination, and has been told and retold countless times, including the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story, “The Ambitious Guest.” Wrote Hawthorne, “Down came the whole side of the mountain, in a cataract of ruin.” One of the best accounts of the Willey Slide appears in the book, Shrouded Memories, by Floyd Ramsey. It has been said, but not proven definitively, that the phrase "gives me the willies" originated with the story of the Willey Slide.

To commemorate the anniversary of this historic and tragic event, New Hampshire State Parks held a special event in Crawford Notch across from the Willey House site. About 75 people were in attendance, including my good friend and co-author Mike Dickerman, geologist and fellow landslide enthusiast Thom Davis, and renowned White Mountain historian and naturalist Dave Govatski.

A featured part of the event was an excellent presentation on the Willey Slide and the history of Crawford Notch State Park by Elizabeth Peel, Program Specialist for the state Bureau of Historic Sites.

Following the event, I bought a Willey Slide souvenir at the park store and then spent the afternoon rambling around the floor of the Notch. I spent a couple of hours poking around on the lower part of the long, rubbly slide in Landslide Gully, which fell anew during the December 2023 rainstorm, and deposited some fresh gravelly outwash across the Sam Willey Trail.

Tree debris near the bottom of the slide.

I climbed a couple hundred feet of elevation next to the slide and popped out to the edge, peering down into a halfpipe type trough. Characteristic debris flow levees are piled up along both edges.

Pearly everlasting, a common slide pioneer plant, is thriving along the edges.

Looking up from the bottom of the trough.

Looking down. Lots of loose rock, careful attention to footing required.

From one spot, I could see the slide history of Mount Willey's east face. On the left is a narrow cut and dark conifer strip that mark the track of the 1826 slide, long since revegetated. In the center are remnant open ledge slabs from old slides (perhaps from the early 1900s). On the right is the big slab known as the Willey Slide (or Willey's Slide) to ice climbers.

Willey's Slide.

Back down on the floor of the Notch, the Willey Slide historical marker.

Up behind the Willey House site, the boulders that supposedly split the slide around the house, leaving it undamaged.

Webster Cliffs from the observation deck above the Willey House site, reached by a short uphill path.

Landslide Gully from picnic area on the south side of the Willey House site.

Zoom on slabs high up in Landslide Gully.

Before heading home, I appropriately enjoyed a stroll along the delightful Sam Willey Trail.

View of the Saco River from a short side path.

A spot from which to savor a sweet view of the Notch.

An impressive beaver dam on the Saco.

A view from the short Pond Loop Trail.

The day after the 200th anniversary of the Willey Slide, it seemed fitting to climb Mount Willey. I hadn't climbed Willey from the south in many years, and I wanted to check on the deteriorating condition of the ladders and the general shape of the trail. Another objective was to look for a seldom-found geocache hidden off-trail high on the mountain. From the railroad track crossing at the start of Ethan Pond Trail, I had a glimpse of this brooding hulk of a mountain.

From its junction with the trail to Ripley Falls, Ethan Pond Trail climbs steadily, with many wooden check steps.

After a long section of easier grades, onto the Willey Range Trail.

Crossing of Kedron Brook.

The first ~0.35 mile of Willey Range Trail climbs moderately.

At ~3000 ft., the fun begins - a climb of 1300 ft. in ~0.75 mile, with sections of severe erosion, loose rock and a few ledge scrambles. And the ladders.

These wooden check steps are still holding the trail in place.

A steep scramble up a broken ledge, with good footholds.

The ladder section runs up some very steep terrain from ~3400-3500 ft. The ladders were built in 2004, but have deteriorated significantly over the last few years, with a number of missing rungs. This makes both the ascent and descent more challenging. Replacing the ladders is on the AMC Trails project list for the near future.

A trio of backpackers making their way up the ladders.

Going up...

...and up. The trickiest part of the ladder section is transferring sideways from one ladder to the next where a key rung is missing.

A set of ledge scrambles (not difficult) at ~3900 ft.

Heading off-trail towards the "Carroll County Highpoint?" geocache.

Hiding spot at 4020 ft. It was placed by an accomplished bushwhacker in 2007. I was the 20th geocacher to log it since then, and the first since November 2024.

Back on the trail, an interesting ledge scramble.

One of the final scrambles just before the top. If you want to really know Willey as a mountain, you must climb it from the south, rather than as an easy ridgecrest add-on to Tom and Field.

Views from the eastern outlook were magnificent on this glorious late summer day. This perch gives you a sense of lofty isolation, peering down into lower Crawford Notch, with Stairs Mountain, Mount Resolution and Mount Crawford beyond.