Did a loop, starting up the Pratt Lake trail, up West Granite's NW ridge, across to Granite. Missed the ridge with the winter route below Granite (easier to find when coming up), so we ended up having to cross an avalanche chute lower down, which might not be advisable under different conditions (or at all). First sprinkles of snow started at the junction with the Granite trail, increasing to a few inches over a solid base around Ollalie Lake. Beware of rocks covered with invisible ice at the stream crossings. The snow was never deep enough to bother with snowshoes. Instead I used microspikes on the lower trail, and crampons on the steeper slopes (which had a hard crust in places). Thanks to our late start (9:30) we encountered some spring-like slush on the way down, which made for difficult going on the steeper slopes.
Trip Report
Granite Mountain - Winter, West Granite Mountain — Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011
Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass
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