Gulf of Slides

The Gulf of Slides Ski Trail climbs from Pinkham Notch into the gulf. Granite Backcountry Alliance lists it at 2.5 miles, with 1,868 feet of vertical rise. Much of the trail slopes sideways as well as downhill, so descents require managing the cross-slope pitch and two-way traffic. The upper trail crosses avalanche runouts from the slopes above.

Main Gully in Gulf of Slides has a documented long sliding-fall path. On April 3, 2021, a skier fell roughly 800 vertical feet down the gully, tumbling airborne repeatedly. A helicopter could not land; about fifteen people helped transport the skier by litter down the trail, reaching the parking lot after dark. The incident illustrates both the fall distance and the difficulty of evacuating an injured skier from this line.