Climbing A New Slide In The Adirondacks

Soon after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, I climbed several slides in the High Peaks that had been created or much enlarged by the storm’s deluge. Some of these have become somewhat popular, such as the so-called Catastrophic Chaos on Saddleback and the slide leading from the Trap Dike to the summit of Mount Colden.

A few weeks ago, I climbed a new slide that apparently has seen almost no traffic. I went there with Kevin “Mudrat” MacKenzie, who first climbed it last year, and a Canadian known only as NP. Mudrat has named it the Buttress Slide as it sits on a buttress of Dix Mountain.

Mudrat has climbed something like eighty slides in the Adirondacks and counts this as one of the most difficult, given its steepness. We roped up to climb a steep crack near the top. The slide is 1,450 feet long and gains 900 feet in elevation.

The above photo was taken toward the top of the slide. You can see more photos and Mudrat’s detailed description of the Buttress on Adirondack Almanack.