Granite Mountain, Granite Mountain - Winter — Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

I started late (10:15) after a morning appointment. About 10 cars in the Pratt parking lot. There was very little snow until over 4000 feet. The warnings about an avalanche chute on the WTA ‘Granite Mountain – Winter’ page were sadly comical because there was absolutely no snow in the chute.

Trail news was interesting today. The only people on the trail seemed to be either in their 20s or over 70. One of the former took his skis up and was pretty stoked about the half mile he managed on virgin snow from the lookout. The older hikers were simultaneously aghast at the lack of snow and happy about a beautiful sunny day in February. The consensus was that this was more like a day in May than this early in the year.

I took crampons (Kahtoola K10), snowshoes and poles. I put the crampons on at about 4200ft. The snowshoes stayed in the pack, but the poles were useful on the way down. The snow was firm and solid. Nobody seemed to be postholing today, although clearly it had been happening on previous days. Above the treeline, a series of tempting-looking false summits appeared until the lookout became obvious on the real summit. From here, the winter trail followed the ridgeline to climber’s left of the summer trail.

The exertion on the way up meant shorts and T-shirt but the wind grew stronger at the summit, and it was really cold, especially when sitting down and eating. I misjudged the stability of the snow on the way down and a cornice collapsed on a rocky section at about 5200 feet. I managed to hook my arm over a snow ridge and haul myself back up. Otherwise, I would have tumbled through some rocks to the skier’s tracks. As it was, I lost feeling in my hands for a while. I took a good jacket, but I left the gloves at home. They would have been good to have.