I had already been up the Dike six times in winter and summer, but not since August 2011 when Hurricane Irene did some major renovations and housekeeping on the mountain. So, on a day with a good weather forecast and no rain in the previous few days, eight of us set out to tackle the new improved Trap Dike. Antoine, Anya, Haim, Mathilde, Pascal, Raisa, Sonia and me. Three of us had previous dike experience.

We set off from South Meadows at about 9:15am and by around 10:00am, we were at Marcy Dam. By 11:00am we arrived at Avalanche Lake and began to realize that the whole region was socked in by fog and clouds. Visibility was less than 100 feet. By the time we got to the second Hitch-Up-Mathilda, we could not even see the Dike itself, just 100 or so feet directly across the narrow lake. As well, even though it hadn't rained in days, everything was wet and Avalanche Lake water levels seemed to be higher than usual.

By noon we were about to start up the dike itself. There was more water than usual pouring down the left side, so we stayed on the right most of the way. There are obviously the traditional 1st and 2nd waterfalls, but today there was so much water that the whole dike was really just one big, long waterfall. There were definitely places where we had to scramble on rock with cold water raining down on us from the dike (not the sky).

Normally not that difficult, the water and dampness everywhere seemed to make the second waterfall "crux" a little more of a challenge than usual. After that, given our new slide destination, I really paid no attention to the previous dike exits for the traditional slide ascent. That being said, the entrance to the Irene Slide seemed to appear a lot sooner than expected. That was fast.

The Irene Slide itself is quite nice. Definitely steeper than the older slide and perhaps on a par with the Eagle Slide, with respect to steepness. However, it is so textured and grippy that one can basically walk upright the whole way without using hands for most of it.

The "entrance ramp" from the right side of the dike to the slide itself is a different matter. It is hardly impossibly steep, but nevertheless requires due diligence and care to negotiate it safely. Some in our group went up the first direct entrance ramp, while some climbed a little further up on a ramp that was actually steeper but had more cracks and handholds and appeared to offer better security.

Once on the slide, all that was missing were views or any visibility more than 100 or so feet. We heard some climbers not far below us but could not see them at all. Needless to say, there was no sign of the summit, the Avalanche Lake area, or even the dike itself once we were 10 minutes past it. This slide is definitely a fun route. It takes a few minutes on the very steep rock before you realize that you don't need hands and can just walk upright most of the way. That is how textured the surface is.

I had read reports of a muddy section closer to the top that was tricky, but it was certainly easy enough to avoid or get though, even though it was pretty slick. Shortly after that, the slide kind of fizzles out and a herd path on the left seemed to direct us within minutes to the summit. At about 3:00pm we were congregating around the iconic balanced rock. Apparently, this must have been Trap Dike Day as there were several parties heading up that route, some before us and some after. Still no views anywhere, by the way.

With the climbing fun over, we started down the fairly straightforward Lake Arnold trail and in about 3 more hours were back at South Meadows Road.

One of the great pleasures in life is to introduce people to new and challenging things that they might not otherwise discover. I had a great time, but a few of our Trap Dike newbies were over the moon with delight during and after this hike. Hard to imagine a finer day in the mountains. Life is GREAT!