 Attempting a risky jump with Leavitt in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Slater was forced to make a downwind landing on the wrong side of the river, twisting his foot and scrubbing their plans to exit the canyon by climbing one of the walls.Slater was one of the top aid climbers of his day.In 1982, he made the first solo ascent of the "Pacific Ocean Wall", at the time one of the hardest routes on El Capitan.