Crossing in Action, part 3
Eventually we veered south and started climbing the north flank of East Dix. Here, at higher elevations and on a North-facing slope, we encountered a half-inch or so of unmelted snow. If there was snow here, there would probably be snow on the slide itself. Things weren't looking good for a succesful ascent of the slide.
We climbed up steeply until we reached the base of the so-called 'first slide', where we took a break. The slide was mostly covered in a thin veneer of snow, and there was even a bit of ice about. It was a given that the main slide would be in the same condition. We decided to hoof it a bit further up the herdpath just to scout things out.
Near the base of the first slide
Near the base of the first slide
We got as far as about 3200 feet, just below the main slide. It was still pretty brushy here, but we could glimpse bits of the slide and the summit ridge rocks 800 feet above. It looked like a lot of fun - but also it looked pretty snowy and icy. Not a lot of snow and ice, mind you, but just enough to make climbing the slide very treacherous. Well, that was it - no farther for today!
The trail crosses, but we do not
Heading back down, we retraced our steps, making small adjustments and optimizations in our route to avoid particularly tricky water crossings and/or innefficiencies in our bushwacking. As a result, we cruised back to the car in a very quick two hours and 45 minutes from the base of the slide (and a distance of 8km). I now had good solid route data that I could use on a future winter outing, too, which was great. So, although it would have been nice to do the slide and make the top, I was still glad to have been out on our scenic little forest walk!
Interactive Trackmap - Hike to East Dix Slide - Click map to Expand
Start Time:
10:01a.m.
End Time:
5:25p.m.
Duration:
7h24m
Distance:
16.64 km
(10.34 mi)
Average Speed:
2.2 km/hr
(1.4 mph)
Start Elevation:
1349ft
(411m)
*
Max Elevation:
3195ft
(974m)
*
Min Elevation:
1325ft
(404m)
*
End Elevation:
1330ft
(405m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2006ft
(611m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
2024ft
(617m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
Elevation profile over Distance
Elevation profile over Time
