ken93 - Dec 6, 2012 7:50 pm Date Climbed: Dec 1, 2012
no views
great climb but it was raining by the time we hit the summit
technicolorNH - Oct 17, 2012 12:37 am Date Climbed: Oct 16, 2012
a good solid hike
Did this on the 2nd day of a Catskills hiking trip. Time to summit from Woodland Valley was three hours and forty minutes and time back was twenty minutes less than that. A very solid seven miles one way with some great scrambling up steep patches. The col between Cornell and Slide had some nice campsites in an interesting high altitude forest.
Redwic - Sep 18, 2012 12:04 am Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2012
Horrible Weather!
This was my second stop during a big NE USA peakbagging trip. Several friends had mentioned this peak as a suggestion, mostly because it is one of the most isolated peaks in the USA, so from that standpoint it was good to visit. However, the horrible rain and wind made the hike most unpleasant, and there were no views. I was stunned by how unusually bad the weather was, but then foudn that later that night that a tornado (or set of tornadoes) had taken place near my earlier locations. Too close for comfort!
jjfromnj - Aug 28, 2012 9:39 pm Date Climbed: Mar 11, 2012
Winter Wonderland
Went up for a winter ascent of the highest peak in the Catskills. Much of the trail had 6" of ice on it, making for an interesting ascent, and an even more interesting descent.
ape - Jun 21, 2012 3:58 pm Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2011
Soldiered on due to scouts
Hiked Panther, Wittenberg, and Cornell, planning to camp between Cornell and Slide. But atop Cornell we met a large group of scouts aiming for the same campsite, so we decided to push it over Slide as well. Long day!
Hiked up from the Denning trailhead after spending the night at the Bouton Memorial Lean-to. Cool but clear - a good first trip in the Catskills.
michaelemeyers - Feb 28, 2012 12:24 am Date Climbed: Feb 22, 2012
slide mountain - winter wonderland
awesome hike up to the summit, i enjoyed every minute - what a beautiful day! never too cold, sun was out, great views...
the first .5 miles on the trail, just after the parking area at the start/end of the hike was very icy and slippery - otherwise no problems on the trail which was well maintained and clearly marked - we went up Wittenberg Cornell and came back down via the Curtis-Ormsbee trail in about 4 hours, full write up here:
mrbida - Jan 8, 2012 7:40 pm Date Climbed: Jan 8, 2012
Ranger's Day Out
A nice hike with intermittent flurries. Little snow until about 3200' where the snow and ice became deeper. Took us 2:45 to go up and down via Burroughs. Would have made it in less time with micro-spikes. Currently, crampons are not necessary.
There were several rangers on the trail today. It appears a group of three males camped at the summit, which is against park regulations. In addition, the group improperly disposed of food waste and had a fire above 3500'. The group had at least one firearm and the rangers ended up escorting them down with more rangers waiting at the trailhead.
AnotherKevin - Dec 28, 2011 10:43 pm Date Climbed: Dec 28, 2011
Up Curtis Ormsbee, down Burroughs Range Trail
Nothing, I know, to most SummitPosters, but my first of the 35 high peaks.
Burroughs Range Trail on the west side is a nice gentle carriage road. Curtis Ormsbee has its steep moments, and today it was definitely not negotiable without some sort of traction aid; a couple of scrambles were iced over. My daughter went down to the spring on the east side and reported that coming back up was hairy (for her) - the ladders were fine, but some of the other scrambles were icier and slabbier than she felt safe with.
Snowshoes definitely not needed, deepest snow was only boot-deep.
Only a few glimpses of the views - visibility was obscured by snow and blowing snow. The Neversink was high enough to make the steppingstones awkward, and my daughter wound up with a bootful of water on the way out.
I'm a very slow hiker on ice, start 0945 or so and finish about 1615. Passed by 3-4 other parties, including a group of about 20 Chinese tourists (who were surprisingly skilled and well-equipped.)
Are there style points for making my start on the 35 be the highest one, in winter?
With a group from high school. Went again a year later.
kavak - Jun 2, 2011 6:24 pm Date Climbed: May 28, 2011
From Slide Mountain TH
Climbed with two NYCers who had never hiked a mountain. This was a great way to see if it is worth the effort. Despite the black flies, wet rocks, hot and humid conditions, I thoroughly enjoyed the outing. However, I am not sure they will ever hike a mountain again.
Iron Hiker - Mar 29, 2011 8:57 pm Date Climbed: Oct 1, 1987
The roof of my home mountains
4 times - 1987, 1991, 1997, and 2001. The last time was particularly memorable, going up the Fisherman's Path along the Neversink with 3 others and introducing them to the Catskills for the first time, haha!
BConley - Mar 28, 2011 8:41 am Date Climbed: Mar 27, 2011
Nice hike
Took the approach from the west. Very nice hike. Trail well marked. Still a good amount of snow on the mountain. Glad I brought my crampons.
Great hike, and the spring on the backside by the ladders is very refreshing. Too many bugs at the summit to actually enjoy it though. Maybe another time is better.
redmond - Jan 4, 2011 12:49 pm Date Climbed: Jan 2, 2010
Warm and Slushy
Headed up Slide from the West after visiting Panther in the morning. The warm weather and rain the previous days had melted most of the snow from the storm the week before. Trail was slushy but not too bad, although there were a few sections covered in ice that made me happy to have brought my microspikes along. Decent views but very few people. Great day to be in the Catskills.
TrappedInNJ - Nov 14, 2010 3:35 pm Date Climbed: Nov 14, 2009
Cloudy
Nice hike, but lots of cloud cover, no views at all.
GrumpyJohn - Oct 1, 2010 9:50 pm Date Climbed: May 19, 2009
Horrible View. Nice Hike.
When I went, there was still a lot of ice on the trail. Fun fun fun!
A warm day in March way back in 1991. It was more of a slush climb than snow climb and temperatures were comfortably in the high fifties. Used the western approach and walking through the slush added some challenge. Excellent views from the summit which had quite a few people. See link for more information on hiking the Catskills or in other locations in the United States: http://hubpages.com/hub/Four-Great-Hikes-in-the-Catkills
Grampahawk - Jun 7, 2010 6:07 pm Date Climbed: Jun 6, 2010
Burned a lot of calories
We did the loop from the Wittenberg/Cornell side. Lots of great scrambles made it very enjoyable. No water to be found across the top of Wittenberg and Cornell. There was finally a little spring just off the trail a few hundred feet before the summit. Once over the summit of Slide it was basically a walk in the woods back to the trailhead.
ken93 - Dec 6, 2012 7:50 pm Date Climbed: Dec 1, 2012
no viewsgreat climb but it was raining by the time we hit the summit
technicolorNH - Oct 17, 2012 12:37 am Date Climbed: Oct 16, 2012
a good solid hikeDid this on the 2nd day of a Catskills hiking trip. Time to summit from Woodland Valley was three hours and forty minutes and time back was twenty minutes less than that. A very solid seven miles one way with some great scrambling up steep patches. The col between Cornell and Slide had some nice campsites in an interesting high altitude forest.
Redwic - Sep 18, 2012 12:04 am Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2012
Horrible Weather!This was my second stop during a big NE USA peakbagging trip. Several friends had mentioned this peak as a suggestion, mostly because it is one of the most isolated peaks in the USA, so from that standpoint it was good to visit. However, the horrible rain and wind made the hike most unpleasant, and there were no views. I was stunned by how unusually bad the weather was, but then foudn that later that night that a tornado (or set of tornadoes) had taken place near my earlier locations. Too close for comfort!
jjfromnj - Aug 28, 2012 9:39 pm Date Climbed: Mar 11, 2012
Winter WonderlandWent up for a winter ascent of the highest peak in the Catskills. Much of the trail had 6" of ice on it, making for an interesting ascent, and an even more interesting descent.
ape - Jun 21, 2012 3:58 pm Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2011
Soldiered on due to scoutsHiked Panther, Wittenberg, and Cornell, planning to camp between Cornell and Slide. But atop Cornell we met a large group of scouts aiming for the same campsite, so we decided to push it over Slide as well. Long day!
klotito - Apr 9, 2012 4:43 pm Date Climbed: Apr 8, 2012
From DenningHiked up from the Denning trailhead after spending the night at the Bouton Memorial Lean-to. Cool but clear - a good first trip in the Catskills.
michaelemeyers - Feb 28, 2012 12:24 am Date Climbed: Feb 22, 2012
slide mountain - winter wonderlandawesome hike up to the summit, i enjoyed every minute - what a beautiful day! never too cold, sun was out, great views...
the first .5 miles on the trail, just after the parking area at the start/end of the hike was very icy and slippery - otherwise no problems on the trail which was well maintained and clearly marked - we went up Wittenberg Cornell and came back down via the Curtis-Ormsbee trail in about 4 hours, full write up here:
http://www.michaelmeyers.com/content/slide-mountain-loop-hike-catskill-mountains-winter
mrbida - Jan 8, 2012 7:40 pm Date Climbed: Jan 8, 2012
Ranger's Day OutA nice hike with intermittent flurries. Little snow until about 3200' where the snow and ice became deeper. Took us 2:45 to go up and down via Burroughs. Would have made it in less time with micro-spikes. Currently, crampons are not necessary.
There were several rangers on the trail today. It appears a group of three males camped at the summit, which is against park regulations. In addition, the group improperly disposed of food waste and had a fire above 3500'. The group had at least one firearm and the rangers ended up escorting them down with more rangers waiting at the trailhead.
AnotherKevin - Dec 28, 2011 10:43 pm Date Climbed: Dec 28, 2011
Up Curtis Ormsbee, down Burroughs Range TrailNothing, I know, to most SummitPosters, but my first of the 35 high peaks.
Burroughs Range Trail on the west side is a nice gentle carriage road. Curtis Ormsbee has its steep moments, and today it was definitely not negotiable without some sort of traction aid; a couple of scrambles were iced over. My daughter went down to the spring on the east side and reported that coming back up was hairy (for her) - the ladders were fine, but some of the other scrambles were icier and slabbier than she felt safe with.
Snowshoes definitely not needed, deepest snow was only boot-deep.
Only a few glimpses of the views - visibility was obscured by snow and blowing snow. The Neversink was high enough to make the steppingstones awkward, and my daughter wound up with a bootful of water on the way out.
I'm a very slow hiker on ice, start 0945 or so and finish about 1615. Passed by 3-4 other parties, including a group of about 20 Chinese tourists (who were surprisingly skilled and well-equipped.)
Are there style points for making my start on the 35 be the highest one, in winter?
MoapaPk - Jun 9, 2011 11:10 pm
long ago 1971With a group from high school. Went again a year later.
kavak - Jun 2, 2011 6:24 pm Date Climbed: May 28, 2011
From Slide Mountain THClimbed with two NYCers who had never hiked a mountain. This was a great way to see if it is worth the effort. Despite the black flies, wet rocks, hot and humid conditions, I thoroughly enjoyed the outing. However, I am not sure they will ever hike a mountain again.
Iron Hiker - Mar 29, 2011 8:57 pm Date Climbed: Oct 1, 1987
The roof of my home mountains4 times - 1987, 1991, 1997, and 2001. The last time was particularly memorable, going up the Fisherman's Path along the Neversink with 3 others and introducing them to the Catskills for the first time, haha!
BConley - Mar 28, 2011 8:41 am Date Climbed: Mar 27, 2011
Nice hikeTook the approach from the west. Very nice hike. Trail well marked. Still a good amount of snow on the mountain. Glad I brought my crampons.
chrisbrown - Feb 23, 2011 2:44 pm
day hikeExcellent and long day hike with my brother. Late start as usual and we rode our XL600r's 3.5hrs back home afterward. Got home at sunrise. Great time!
Blueorchid - Feb 8, 2011 12:36 pm
Slide-Cornell-WittenburgGreat hike, and the spring on the backside by the ladders is very refreshing. Too many bugs at the summit to actually enjoy it though. Maybe another time is better.
redmond - Jan 4, 2011 12:49 pm Date Climbed: Jan 2, 2010
Warm and SlushyHeaded up Slide from the West after visiting Panther in the morning. The warm weather and rain the previous days had melted most of the snow from the storm the week before. Trail was slushy but not too bad, although there were a few sections covered in ice that made me happy to have brought my microspikes along. Decent views but very few people. Great day to be in the Catskills.
TrappedInNJ - Nov 14, 2010 3:35 pm Date Climbed: Nov 14, 2009
CloudyNice hike, but lots of cloud cover, no views at all.
GrumpyJohn - Oct 1, 2010 9:50 pm Date Climbed: May 19, 2009
Horrible View. Nice Hike.When I went, there was still a lot of ice on the trail. Fun fun fun!
Hoverla - Aug 17, 2010 4:25 pm
Slide Mountain Winter climbA warm day in March way back in 1991. It was more of a slush climb than snow climb and temperatures were comfortably in the high fifties. Used the western approach and walking through the slush added some challenge. Excellent views from the summit which had quite a few people. See link for more information on hiking the Catskills or in other locations in the United States: http://hubpages.com/hub/Four-Great-Hikes-in-the-Catkills
Grampahawk - Jun 7, 2010 6:07 pm Date Climbed: Jun 6, 2010
Burned a lot of caloriesWe did the loop from the Wittenberg/Cornell side. Lots of great scrambles made it very enjoyable. No water to be found across the top of Wittenberg and Cornell. There was finally a little spring just off the trail a few hundred feet before the summit. Once over the summit of Slide it was basically a walk in the woods back to the trailhead.