Macomb

January 13, 2019

On our way back from our Middle Dixes adventure yesterday, we noticed that a large group appeared to have broken out the herd path up Slide Brook towards Macomb. Wanting an easier day, and still having some Dixes on the list, I suggested that we should take advantage of this track, and now that we knew the road was skiable, we should ski the approach. A -26 degree morning awaited us, so it definitely was no problem getting the ski wax to work. We skied the road, mostly with the poles stuck in armpits as we tried to keep our hands warm. It was not a great ski, but we did make quick work of this, and finally started skiing the trail up towards Slide Brook. For the most part this was pretty good skiing, even if it was a snowshoe trench. The cold conditions made the climbing easy and after about an hour and twenty minutes from the car, we arrived at Slide Brook where we stashed our skis and strapped on snowshoes. We began climbing the well packed track which was a treat to hike on after the snow slog yesterday. Shortly after we started moving up onto a steeper section, Deb declared that she was not feeling it today. We discussed a bit, and finally decided to split up. She would take a leisurely ski back followed by a nap in the car, and after mutually agreeing on turnaround/rescue times, I would continue on upwards solo. When I finally caught view of the Macomb slide, I was pleased to see a well trodden track all the way up. Navigation would be easy, and I would not be breaking trail today, or at least that is what I thought. Upon arriving at the slide I pulled out my axe and began the steep climb upwards. The group from yesterday had set a very good track, with very well (and deliberately) made snowshoe steps which made it like climbing a very steep stairway. The track was so well set, I figure this may well have been put up by a guided group, as I have rarely seen an amateur track set this way. As I got higher I noticed that there did not appear to be any track on the very top of the slide, and sure enough, about 15 meters below the big boulder, the staircase dead ended. This was the steepest part of the slide, and the snow here lay on top of a serious layer of ice. The thought of breaking trail almost turned me around, but summit fever won out and I continued on upwards. Here I made full use of the ice axe, using it to pull myself upwards and prevent sliding to my doom on this icy, snow covered slope. I probably should have put on crampons, but it was not too far until I reached the lower angle terrain above the boulder. The herd path was easily located, and I managed to stay on it all the way to Macomb summit. The trail breaking was actually not too bad either as the powder lay atop a fairly supportive crust, only about 30 centimeters below the surface. The summit was glorious as the day had warmed up considerably, and there was not a breath of wind. I did not even bother layering up as I ate a quick snack prior to heading back down. I did not linger too long though, as I wanted to get down off the steep parts of the slide before the sun hit it. Probably not a concern as the snowpack is not that deep, but freshly minted open snow slopes always scare me a little. The descent back to the slide went very fast as I could snowshoe ski most of it, except for a couple steep pitches where I down climbed. I arrived at the slide, which was still in the shade fortunately, and saw two people at the bottom just starting their way upwards. I cautiously down climbed the icy pitch, and then made my way down the long snowshoe staircase until I met the other couple just after the sun struck the snow. We had a brief chat, and I continued on downwards, getting somewhat overheated as the sunshine was very strong, however stopping to de-layer was going to be fairly awkward on this steep slope, so I just pushed on downwards until I reached the safety of the trees at the bottom. I stripped down to a base layer and made the rest of the descent fairly quickly down to the lean-to. A brief lunch was followed by a lovely ski back to the summer trailhead, and then a mediocre ski on the rough road back to the car ended a six and a half hour day.

Crossing one of many creeks during the approach.

Macomb slide.

A nice track set for me.

View from the summit of Macomb.

Looking down the snowshoe staircase on the descent.

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