DENALI CHALLENGE: Tripyramids Loop Hike

The most challenging and spectacular route is via the North and South Slides from Livermore which we chose to do as part of the Denali Challenge! “Waterville Haystacks” was an early name for Mount Tripyramid, the big three-summit mountain that rests between Waterville Valley and south of the Kancamagus Highway in Albany. 

The North and Middle summits are included in the Appalachian Mountain Club’s 4,000 Footer list, ranked 33rd and 35th. Dave, Jon and I have not been up the North Slide and were happy to do it again! We left Livermore Road around 8AM, which is a multi-use trail for hikers, mountain bikers and during the winter months, cross-country skiers.

The road and the entire Mt. Tripyramid Loop was lined with different colors of mushrooms. Some mountain bikers passed us whom we later saw climbing up the North Slide. Otherwise, nobody passed on the way up except for a young couple near the start of the North Slide.

At 3.6 miles, we turned off Livermore Road, crossed the aptly named Avalanche Brook and began our climb up the North Slide. Steep and exposed and not for the faint of the heart is the route up the North Slide!

The climb is a difficult, continuous scramble even in the driest conditions. The lower section under the tree canopy was a little greasy. We made our way up carefully.

The exposed wide ledge slabs were dry and we did our best not to knock any loose rocks and cause them to go bouncing down the slide potentially hitting hikers below us. We were thankful the hikers above us were careful too! We were amazed as to the number of dogs going up the North Slide. I think we counted at least four. Impressive! 

The best route was once yellow blazed but now there are too few worn blazes left to guide the way. People are climbing up both sides and even up the middle. Jon and I found a herd path in the scrub to the left away from the ledge slabs that provided decent footing.

The view up and down the slide is daunting. The open mountain vista of the surrounding mountains is delightfully grand! Just before the top we found some good ledge seats and took the time to enjoy the big view. The nearby peaks of Mt. Tecumseh and Osceola were front and center and interestingly we could see the rocky bump of The Captain near Carrigain and more.

We took the sharp left turn into the woods marked by a cairn. From here the trail continues to meet the Pine Bend Brook Trail just below Tripyramid’s North Peak summit. We got a group shot of us on the summit, went down and then back up again to reach Tripyramid’s Middle Peak. We poked around the trees to find some views. The ridge trail from North Peak to South Peak was a delight with a fantastic  footbed and beautiful forest!

From Middle to South it is less than a half a mile.  We had lunch on the South Peak and then started our climb down into the South Slide which is difficult and deeply eroded. The South Slide is steep but the rocks are blocky and filled with loose gravel. The views remain superb on the wide upper part of the slide, then we descended steeply through scrub with partial views and occasional down scrambles.

We were happy to get back on Livermore Road for an easy walk back to the truck. We only have two more peaks to do tomorrow to finish the Denali Challenge: Noon Peak and Jennings Peak! We loved sharing the event with Dave. Thanks for joining us!

~ Mike and Jon

This loop hike is one of the most exciting and challenging hikes in the Whites! This is 2 of 3 hikes we’ll be doing as part of the Denali Challenge.

We’ll start hiking up the Tripyramids at 9AM from the Livermore Road trailhead using the Mount Tripyramid loop trail with its north and south slides. That said, if everyone who signs up can get a mountain bike, we’ll ride up to the official start which will save us time and get to ride down! Thus, we’ll start an hour later at 10AM.

We would be mountain biking on a wide logging road so you don’t have to be expert mountain biker. We rarely mountain bike. This is not single track. They rent mountain bikes at the Waterville Valley Town Square. [Note that if you ride a mountain bike it will not count if you plan on doing this hike to count towards completing your 4,000 footers.] Don’t feel pressured to get a mountain bike, we’ll be OK with walking it but we’ve found its more fun cutting the distance walking by using a mountain bike. We hide our mountain bikes and pick them up once we loop back for the exhilarating ride down!

The slides offer the best views…the Middle Peak has a fine outlook!  It’s an 11 mile loop where we climb up the three Tripyramids, North Peak [4180], Middle Peak [4140], and South Peak [4100]. Elevation gain is 3,000 feet. Some hikers will be uncomfortable on the North Slide. We scramble up exposed slabs requiring liberal use of hands. Once we reach the ridge, we’ll hike up the three mountains and descend down the gravelly South Slide.

This is our second hike on our quest to complete the Waterville Valley based challenge where we hike five 4,000 footers [non-4,000 footers allowed] equaling 20,000 feet (Denali is at 20,328') claiming the title "Alive after five"!

Waterville Valley’s proximity to some of New England’s highest peaks makes it a great hiking destination.  With more than a dozen 4,000-foot peaks surrounding Waterville Valley, hikers are being challenged to climb five of them in a single weekend [non-4,000 footers and six is allowed] in a fun hiking event known as the Denali 5 Summit Challenge.

In order to meet this challenge, we will be hiking Welch [2605’] and Dickey [2724’] on Friday; the three Tripyramids, North Peak [4180], Middle Peak [4140], and South Peak [4100] on Saturday. On Sunday we’ll finish with a hike up to Snows Mountain [2800’].  

If you would like to join us on this challenge, sign up for all three hikes we have posted for this weekend. There is no fee to participate in the Denali Challenge. Pre-registration is recommended but not required. Please e-mail jcobbett @ waterville.com to pre-register.  Registration is from 6-8PM on Friday in the Town Square next to the info booth. Hikers will receive a welcome goody bag and hiker card.

On Sunday, after we hiked up Snows Mountain, we will turn in our finished cards at the Info Booth in Town Square. 

You will need to be prepared with sturdy hiking boots, at least 2-3 liters of water, lunch, snacks, bug spray, rain gear, and other clothing appropriate for the weather. No blue jeans, cotton shirts/sweaters, etc.

Lodging Option: Bunk beds are available at our house [with Wi Fi] near Waterville Valley, NH for Friday night and/or Saturday night if you choose to participate in the Denali Challenge. It’s $25 for Friday night and $35 for Saturday that includes dinner. Coffee/bagels each morning and linen/blankets/towels are provided. Space is limited so email ASAP to reserve a bunk!