Lake Placid Slide

Whiteface Brook Slide (aka "Whiteface Placid Slide" or "Lake Placid Slide") spills off the summit of Whiteface down the southwest aspect of the mountain. The lower section of the slide is often wet and may require some bushwacking (right) to skip overly damp areas. Once you get past that nonsense, the middle section of the slab is mostly class 2 with a few steps that can be tackled for added difficulty.

The views back towards Lake Placid are just plain awesome, especially given this slide is clearly visible from town. Halfway up, you’ll encounter a stretch of talus slope that is generally lower angle and stable enough.

At the very top of the slide, there is a headwall with several options that all spit you out onto the staircase that leads to the summit (tourist gawking ensues). Most ways up are Class 2/3 but others have reported 4th class options and now that I think about it - that’s probably a better reflection of the route I took.

Descent: walk a hundred feet or so to the summit then use the hiking trail to return by way of Whiteface Landing

Hike up from the Connery Pond/Whiteface Landing trail. At around 2900ft, start schwacking north/west toward Whiteface Brook. The schwack is close to a mile long and while several stretches are pretty unpleasant, lots of it follows the brook itself. For this reason, dry conditions and low water levels are pretty important.

Approach shoes or hiking boots if taking the class 2 options