Steepest trail in the Whites??

[rockin rex]

Thought I would throw this out there and see what people think. I think the
trails from Kings Ravine up to the gulfside trail are some of the steepest I have been on. Others in the running would be Huntington, great gulf trail from spaulding lake to Gulfside trail, Madison Gulf Trail from the Osgood split to Madison hut, six husbands and the Daniel Webster trail. What trail do you think is steepest??

[Bill O]

Since I haven't been on any of those trails...I have no idea. Although I did ski down to Spaulding Lake on what would be a really steep trail.

How does the Boot Spur Link compare to the ones you listed? Was it Backpacker or AMC Outdoors that recently had an article about forgotten trails in New England. I think they listed one from the Great Gulf to Mount Madison.

[rockin rex]

Bill if you skied down to Spaulding you have more guts then me. This is the one area (great gulf trail) that I mentioned. I can't imagine skiing down this
but a couple weeks ago there were observation pictures of someone who skied the gully on the Great Gulf headwall area and got to an unskiable area and had to hike back up. This seems to be the up and coming ski area. They are also skiing Kings Ravine which is way above my ability.

[FisherCat]

This is only an opinion and came be easily superceded,as in I've never done Huntington, but I've hit Great Gulf Headwall 9 times when I was in my 20's and everytime thought it was a killer compared to other headwalls I have done. One trail that surprised me a couple of years ago was the southern approach of the Willey Range Trail going up to Willey after the Ethan Pond Trail junction. Maybe because that stretch took longer than I expected.

[KD Talbot]

Great Gulf Headwall has got to be tough. It's 2950' elevation gain over 6.5 miles just to reach Spaulding Lake. From Spaulding Lake it's 1700' elevation gain over a mile to it's junction with the Gulfside Trail. Huntington is 2050' elevation gain over 2.8 miles to reach the bottom of the talus field, then 1400' over 8/10ths of a mile to reach the Alpine Garden Trail.

At first glance I would have to give the distinction to the Great Gulf Headwall, although I haven't done it. I do not know what the trail there is like, but I do know there are places on the Huntington Ravine Trail where you are literally crawling over the rocks on very steep inclines where a misstep would result in a real bad scenario, possibly death. Just by looking at the Great Gulf Headwall, I'd say the same would be true there.

The King Ravine Trail is 1300' over 6/10ths from the foot of the headwall to the Airline Trail. The Great Gully Trail is 1700' over one mile from the King Ravine Trail to the Gulfside Trail, making it equal with the Great Gulf Headwall. I haven't climbed either of these.

Not to take anything away from Bill, but I think winter climbing is easier. Going over the snow and not having to climb over or pick your way through the rocks just seems easier to me when I'm doing it. Of course ice is a different story.

I have descended from Boott Spur Link, but I haven't climbed it. While it is very steep, it is also short. It is 850' elevation gain over 6/10ths. It doesn't really measure up to the rest.

The Twinway from Galehead Hut to South Twin summit is 1150' elevation gain over 8/10ths of a mile, so compares to the headwalls, but the terrain is wooded and no where near as nasty.

The Carter Moriah Trail from Carter Notch to the summit of Carter Dome is 1550' over 1.2 miles and the Wildcat Ridge Trail from Carter Notch to the summit of Wildcat A is 1050' in 7/10ths. Both are real steep, but don't match the headwalls.

KDT

[billysinc]

The title of steepest trail is a tough one. There are some pretty tough sections out there outside of the Presidentials that are very steep just not long. I've climbed Huntington, Great Gulf, King Ravine, and Castle Ravine. They're all pretty steep and exposed in their own way. But there are many other trails out there that might match them in the steep department but aren't nearly as long or are in the trees so they don't look as imposing or exposed. Like KD mentions both trails out of Carter Notch are steep as is North Carter up the Carter-Moriah trail which is one I've gone down but up on. The Lawrence trail up the overhang section of Mt.Paugus before they rerouted it was very steep. Coming up Garfield from the Galehead hut is another one with a couple of tricky steep sections as is the upper part of Flume slide.

[KD Talbot]

I've climbed up North Carter on the Carter-Moriah Trail, and that should definitely be on the list.

Also, the Mount Osceola Trail from Greeley Pond Trail, 1850' over 1.5 miles, and the North Slide Trail on North Tripyramid would make my list, though I'm not sure the height or distance.

Another would be the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail which rises 750' in 4/10ths of a mile from the Gem Pool to the brook crossing on the flat ledges.

I still think it's a toss-up between Huntington, King and the Great Gulf Headwalls.

KDT

[Gorque]

I've only done King's Ravine twice, 20 years apart, and Six husbands once and King's Ravine take's the prize with my limited experience with the contenders.

[Trekker]

Having just done Huntington Ravine, I can definitely tell you it's a killer. If not the steepest, it's certainly in the running. I can see I'll have to try the Kings Ravine and Great Gulf Trails. They sound wonderfully challenging!! And one I've eyed for years is the Six Husbands trail. With sections of exposed rock so nasty that they have to put ladders up there to help you, it makes you just tingle with excitement. What a fun scramble, up OR down. Maybe after I've had a chance to explore some of these other trails I'll be better qualified to judge the steepest, but, for now, my vote goes to Huntington Ravine as the most intense I've been on . . .

[lwa11]

I would toss the Caps Ridge Trail in the discussion. The last 1.4 miles is pretty tough, especially going over the Caps.