May 26, 2024

Start/End: Livermore Trailhead, Waterville Valley

Peaks: North Tripyramid (4,180'), Middle Tripyramid (4,140'), "South Tripyramid" (4,115')

Elevation Gain: 2,985 ft

RT Mileage: 11.07 mi

Duration: 7 hours, 15 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 3

After taking the worst of mud season off from hiking per usual, I was back in the Whites for Memorial Day weekend. For my first hike of the summer, I decided to bag the Tripyramids via the classic North Slide/South Slide loop, as the route is mostly clear of snow at this point.

Waking up at 5:20 AM to the sound of rain, we left the house at 5:40. The rain stopped within the hour as forecasted, and before long the sun was out. We arrived at the trailhead at 7:40, and were on the trail ten minutes later. The first 3.8 miles of the route followed an old logging road out from the trailhead, and we covered this section in around an hour and a half.

At a bend in the logging road, we turned onto the Tripyramid Loop Trail, which took us another half mile to the base of the North Slide. This was where the fun began. The slide started off in the trees, not unlike the Flume Slide Trail, but it quickly opened up. The lower part of the slide actually didn't have enough handholds to safely scramble up, and we used a herd path a little bit to the left of the slide instead.

About halfway up, the slide opened up further and our herd path joined back up with the slide. This is the more photographed half of the slide, and for good reason; by my count at least a dozen 4,000ers were visible. The view was good enough for me to stop in the middle of the slide to get my camera out and shoot some photos with the zoom lens. The scramble itself was probably the most fun I've had since my glissade down South Hancock in March.

All too soon, we were at the top of the slide, and the trail re-entered the coniferous forest for the last 200 vertical feet to the summit of North Tripyramid. We didn't spend too much time on any of the three summits during the ridge walk across, although there was a decent view of North and Middle just below the summit of South. There were only a couple of patches of snow left on the ridge, and snowmelt looks to be around a week ahead of last year.

After the ridge walk, of course, came the descent of the South Slide. The South Slide appeared significantly shorter than the North Slide, but it sure didn't feel like it. While the North Slide had been mostly solid rock, the South Slide was all scree, and incredibly unpleasant. At least there was a nice view to the south.

The walk out to the logging road from the base of the slide was straightforward, and the logging road itself was even easier. We were back at the trailhead just before 3:30 PM, and 4,000ers #31 and #32 were in the books.