Catskillmountaineer.com Forum

Pretty new to the forum here....I've just gotten my feet wet on Giant Ledge/Slide this past winter. Started my boys (6 and 8) off with Giant Ledge this summer and they loved it. We spent a lot of time this summer learning the roadways of the Catskills and lots of time fishing. Esophus was very kind to my beginner fisherman.

Well, I'm off Fri and figure a perfect day to grab early AM summit of Slide Mt. I don't have a map in front of me but I remember a little past the hairpin turn on IIRC 47 is a large trail head parking lot for Slide. I'll be taking that route. Anyone mind telling me rough time estimate? At least their time from parking lot to summit from previous non-winter experience.

Thanks! Best time of year is here!

Sean

I would recommend the ascent using the curtis ormsbee trail, nice trail with ledges, a few views, then take the main trail down from slide summit to the parking area, the main trail is more like an old road.\I think that route took me 5.5 hours, but memory is a bit fuzzy.

Hello Biscut,

This is the absolute best time of year to hike Slide. The fall colors are at their peak in Woodland Valley. You are in for a spectacular show! I was up Slide last weekend and hope to post a trip report later this morning. As Traprocker suggested, you should definitely take the Curtis-Ormsbee Trail. There are two scenic ledges (though one of them is now overgrown), plus a really cool rock formation consisting of two GIGANTIC slabs of rock that separated. Your boys will have a blast checking them out. The C-O Trail is about a mile longer than the red-blazed jeep trail, but well worth it. When you reach the summit of Slide, you should really keep going and shoot for the col between Slide and Cornell. There are some insanely steep ledges, plus you will have views of Cornell and Wittenberg that are too spectacular for words. If you take the C-O Trail to the summit, expect to need about 3 hours for the climb. Taking the jeep trail back is much faster. You'll do that in an hour and a half (2 hours max).

A couple of notes of caution:
1. There is no view from the summit of Slide. The area is overgrown - another reason to keep going towards Cornell. However, a few hundred feet before the summit, there is an awesome viewpoint just to the left (facing north). This is easily the best viewpoint from Slide.
2. As I suggested, you should continue past the summit towards Cornell. However, please use EXTREME caution - especially with the young ones. There are several ledges where serious injury (or worse) could result from a fall due to carelessness. Watch your children at all times and NEVER let them out of your sight.

In spite of the warnings, you will have a great time. Please post a trip report if you go!

Rich

I'd worry that 6-8 year olds might not actually be tall enough to manage the ledge below the ladders on the east side of Slide. That involves either dropping down a mantel that's about waist high on a 6' guy and then working around a dangerously exposed ledge about as wide as a boot, or else scrambling an equally exposed crack (with plentiful holds, but still scary). The kids would have to be tall for their age and cool-headed to attempt it, I think. (The west side of Slide, up to the Burroughs memorial, would be a great trip for kids that liked Giant Ledge. The scrambles up Curtiss-Ormsbee aren't hard at all.)

Then again, some kids are better at it than others. I've met a 9-year-old 3500'er, so some of them are awesome at it. My daughter didn't take much to rock scrambling until she was in her teens.