Great day for Granite. Avy danger was low and the snow conditions made for easy kick-stepping. Check out the view we had of the cornices on the summit area, and be careful not to get too close to the edge when you're on top. We made excellent time on the way down by glissading, but ended up causing some decent sized slides in the avalanche gully. Be careful, especially as snowpack conditions become less stable in coming days. Used our ice axes, but no snowshoes or crampons, although we brought them just in case. Left the parking lot at 10AM and returned at 3:45PM (included travel time, lunch and a little exploring to the north of the summit area).

Perfect day for a snow climb up Granite Mountain--sunny, warm, almost no wind. And low avalanche danger! Ice and snow from the parking lot upward. Some bare patches on the trail for first half mile or so, but beyond that, all snow all the time. Sometimes a few inches, sometimes deeper than my hips, all sorts of texture and consistency. Very frustrating at times. I tried crampons early on when I was slipping at the avalanche chute, then just post-holed every step for ten minutes. In frustration I switched to snow shows but mine are not right for steep climbs, so I could not toe-in properly and slid back a lot. Went vertical for a few hundred yards on left edge of the avalanche chute in tracks made on prior days (snow compressed somewhat meant less post-holing), then headed left and uphill through the remains of the trees. Above treeline, crossed over the ridge a bit in search of better snow (Aided largely by the very helpful Paul, who passed me on trail and led the rest of the way after I was ready to call it quits because of all the back-sliding. Glad he was there and I finally topped out.) All in all, took me 5 hours up and about 2 down. Glorious day up there--some sparse clouds moved in to spoil some pictures but mostly very clear. Some real steep sections, but the snow was not solid enough for an ice axe to arrest, making sliding always a belly to the mountain affair on descent (and when the snow balled in my crampons, I slid a lot). Compared to my two climbs from Paradise to Muir (higher altitude and greater elevation gain but a more defined trail), this was considerably tougher and took longer. Funny, two adjacent signs at the trailhead indicate that it's about 1,800 (I forget the exact altitude) and 2,000 ft above sea level. I adjusted my altimeter watch to split the difference at about 1,880, and it registered about 5,780 at the summit--about 150 ft higher than the actual elevation. Ah well.

WOW!!! That is what I'm going to say about this one! My wife and I set out to climb Granite Mtn on a clear day and it finally came about! It was one steep ascent with needed "cramp-ons and ice axe" on the open section to summit (1 to 1.5 miles), with screaming wind gusts of 50+ mph. Total distance on Garmin read 6 miles. No snow-shoes needed at all. It was a Blessed day!

After the stormy weather on Friday, there was snow all the way down to the parking lot on Saturday morning. We almost couldn't drive all the way to the trailhead. The trail itself was pretty decent for the first couple of miles (packed snow), and we were able to hike on the snow without snow shoes or spikes. After a couple of miles the trail went near the avalanche gulley, which we stayed out of due to the high avalanche risk for the day. We were able to meander through the trees and reinforced some steps that were already kicked in by one party of 3 hikers that had gone up before us (everyone else seemed to be going to Pratt or turning around pretty early on the Granite trail). We climbed straight up for a while and then once the trees mostly thinned out the party before us turned around, at which point we were looking at very deep snow and no broken trail. We put on snow shoes at this point, which I usually don't need on Granite but were really needed on this particular day. We slogged up for about an hour and once we got up towards the ridge a lot of the snow was blown off and we switched out our snow shoes for crampons and ice axes. The wind was present but not ridiculous (maybe 20-30mph) and snow was coming at us sideways (I would not have wanted to be there w/out goggles). It was a real slog on this particular day, for sure. I don't think anyone else made the summit as we didn't see anyone else on the upper mountain.

Phew! What a day! This was a great climb, and some fantastic weather, nothing better than getting a tan in January! With the conditions today I found this climb to be very similar to portions of Mt.Adams in the early summer, so much so that I would suggest, if you have a desire or plan to climb Adams this summer, give this a shot first, see if it's really your thing. That being said, this is a thigh burner to say the least. From the trailhead take the standard trail to the Pratt Lake/Granite Mtn Junction, head in the direction indicated for Granite Mountain. It was just before this junction that I donned my snowshoes, up until that point a lighter sort of traction device would be a good thing to wear. When the trail hits the avalanche gully it veers off up the hill. I left the beaten path here and headed into the woods myself. Up Up Up you go, finally breaking out of the trees and onto bare snowy slopes. I made a bee-line for one of the lone trees on the slope, cut myself a little snow recliner with my ice axe and had a bite to eat in the shade. It was also at this point that I exchanged my snowshoes for crampons and began the ascent. Avoid the temptation here to head towards the uncovered portions of the ridge, the vegetation here is fragile, and at any rate it would be no easier or safer to attempt to ascend that way. Just keep heading up, ice axe, kick, kick, breathe, phew. It is a slog! Eventually you'll run into rocks where the steep section crests, from here I crossed the rocks onto the slightly more icy west side of the ridge and continued slogging. The fire lookout comes into view soon, and before you know it, there you are too! The view is predictably fantastic, Today one could see to Baker, Glacier, Rainier and even Adams to the south! Making my way back down was much easier, as I let gravity do much of the work, lots of good glissades, and then finally the big glissade along the east side of the ridge. Upon reaching the trees I again donned the snowshoes and took a much more direct approach to the trailhead, one of the best parts of snowshoeing! This is really steep country, and people have been caught in avalanches on Granite Mountain, educate yourself on safety, and then use your own best judgement. I got a lot of use out of both my snowshoes and crampons today, and my ice axe. Don't be Charlie Cottonsocks, better to be over-prepared than not prepared at all! ¡Buen suerte! ¡Tengan cuidado!