Found some snowshoes on the way back down and packed them out, comment below if they are yours. Happy hiking!

See additional links below for more trip photos. Continuing our New Year's tradition after having waited two weeks for ideal snow and weather conditions. Moderate avalanche danger this weekend plus mostly sunny forecast today. My main concern was wind speed forecasted at 15 mph the night before, but got updated to 30 mph in the morning, crazy. A dozen or so vehicles in the lot, later I realized most had gone on to other destinations on Pratt Lake Trail. Using microspikes for traction, pups and I followed old tracks on Granite Mountain Trail to 3,600', where summer trail normally started making its way northeastward through first snow chute then due east. We stayed in the forest and followed old snowshoe tracks northward to 3,800' before putting on snowshoes. Two hikers showed up below us and did the same as well. Pups and I continued to move northward, a while later caught up to a solo hiker below the treeline. Wind immediately picked up the minute we were in the open, and slopes got a bit icy yet manageable with snowshoe traction. It wasn't unbearable as much as it was uncomfortable. Goal was to attain southwest ridge to be on exposed granite rocks, and hopefully to stay somewhat out of the wind. Extremely glad the sun was out to offset some of the wind chill factor. Temperature reading on the GPS was 13 °F on windward slopes. Staying just below southwest ridge crest on the west kept us out of colder temperatures and saved us from constantly getting blasted by the snow. Slopes on the west were mostly icy, so we carefully weaved through ice and looked for more snow-covered areas to walk on. Temperature reading was 23 °F through the ridge. Wind blew nonstop on the summit, so the entire time we sought refuge behind big trees in back the lookout tower. Sun felt incredibly nice and warm on the leeward side of summit, so I took advantage of the nice weather and stayed couple hours on top. Solo hiker we passed earlier made it to the top a while later, while the two who came after us turned around due to wind gusts. Views were beautiful as always on this clear sunny day, with just two humans and two dogs on the summit. On the descent I kept snowshoes on until slopes got steep and icy again, then switched to ice ax and without the snowshoes. More foot traffic above the treeline, but mostly turned around before getting up to the ridge. I also packed crampons but didn't have the need for them. Gear: snowshoes, ice ax

We did the Pratt lake trail to Olallie lake today, not Granite mtn. We did run into a group that attempted Granite but had to turn back as the snow was waist deep.

Today had some spectacular weather and a fair number of folks on Granite Mtn. About 6 cars in the lot when I arrived and 8 when I left, split evenly between Pratt Lake hikers and Granite Mtn climbers. Very cold, probably 20 degrees F when I started and 28 when I got back (according to my car's thermometer). A few thousand feet higher it was probably colder yet. I have never before seen snow all the way from the TH to the top before--snow was deep and powdery, unconsolidated, which meant a lot of post-holing. After about 1:40 I put on snow shoes and at about 2:00 hrs I emerged from the forest (4,300 ft or so). I don't having climbing show shoes like MSR Ascents, so it was a little awkward and at about 5,000 ft I switched back to just mountaineering boots and rock-hopped along the ridge, but the clouds came in, making the temps feel like they dropped 20 degrees, and I lost sight of some of my return hike landmarks (giant white hillside, easy to go wrong). I turned around after 3:25 (flurries!) and saw a few more people on the way up as I headed down through the woods and avalanche chute. Post-holing was insane going down, with many above my knees, a handful hip deep, and two times above my waist, which is a little unnerving. Conditions are okay but aren't great (in terms of snow solidity), and while I tried to help extend the boot trail, I failed in the end because of the snow crumbling as I plunge-stepped down--falling half the time. The trail through the woods is in fantastic shape. Coming down was a riot of falling and sliding and I felt like I was 40 years younger. Suggestions: Obviously, avoid the Av chute, bear left and depending on snow quality, head straight up near the ridge or rock-hop as much as you can (while avoiding cavities between rocks that will drop you knee-deep or deeper). I split two tall trees above the tree line (one fir, one pine) that stand about 30-40 feet tall and about 20 feet apart. Then headed for a single, prominent dead and weathered tree about the same size. Then I picked out rocks to keep going in the right direction. On the way down, this helped because when you are following the boot track in front of you you don't realize how far off "straight" you can get. I did not summit, but instead turned back at 3:25 around 5,300 feet. With no sun, it was cold and the clouds made me a little concerned about losing the trail on the way down. All in all, a great day in the mountains. Will probably be easier once this deep, soft snow is compacted by gravity and freeze/thaw cycles (Feb? March?) Still, a wonderful day to be working up hill in the mountains.