View of the High Peaks from the Eagle slide.
The Adirondacks doesn’t have much terrain above tree line, but hikers looking for a little exposure can take up slide climbing. Slides are formed when a rainstorm saturates the thin soil on a steep slope and washes away the vegetation, creating a scar of bedrock and a natural pathway to a summit.
There are many slides in the High Peaks. Some are harder to find than to climb, as you usually need to bushwhack to get there. The climbs usually involve some scrambling, using hands and feet, but don’t require rock-climbing gear.
But the Eagle on the west cirque of Giant Mountain is a step up from the ordinary slide climb. The Eagle is 1,300 feet long and rated fourth class. It’s steep enough that most people will want to wear rock-climbing shoes or sticky approach shoes. Some may even want to rope up. If you fall on the Eagle, you are likely to tumble a long way.
The additional challenge, though, is what makes the Eagle special. It’s the only slide given five stars (the highest rating) in Adirondack Rock: A Rock Climber’s Guide. The book calls it “a great introduction to East Coast mountaineering.”
The Eagle is all about friction climbing. You won’t find a lot of cracks to grip. You ascend by smearing your soles against the rock or finding toeholds on tiny ridges and bulges. If you’re wearing rock shoes and have some climbing experience, the ascent isn’t technically difficult. It’s a calf-burner, though.
The Eagle gives the climber an exhilarating sense of exposure. Not only is it long and steep, but it’s also much wider than most slides (its shape resembles an eagle with its wings outspread). The higher you go, the better the view. The rugged green wilderness of the High Peaks dominates the vista.
Eventually, the slide narrows and peters out just below the summit of Giant. You’ll come to a rock with a flat top, a good place to change back into your hiking boots. From here, it’s less than a minute to the hiking trail. Turn left, and you’ll be at Giant’s summit ledges in maybe two more minutes. The ascent from the highway to the ledges is 3,375 feet—a greater elevation gain than the ascent of Mount Marcy, the region's highest summit, from Adirondak Loj.
DIRECTIONS: Park at the Roaring Brook trailhead off Route 73 in St. Huberts. Follow the Roaring Brook trail for about a mile to the brook crossing. In the old days, climbers began the bushwhack here, following the stream to the base of the slide. However, there is now a herd path maybe a half-mile or three-quarters of a mile farther up the trail, marked by two cairns, one quite large. You can save time by taking this path to the brook. On the ascent, follow the main channel to its end. On the descent, take the Zander Scott Trail for 0.8 miles to the Roaring Brook Trail, turn right, and follow the latter trail back to the parking lot. It’s 3.6 miles by trail from the summit to the lot.
Comments