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!

Flickr: http://bit.ly/granite-mountain-ix Got a late start waiting for REI to open to rent a pair of snowshoes since I broke the bindings on mine on Mount Persis yesterday. Friends and I took the snow gully straight up since today's avalanche danger in the area was low. The breeze felt in the gully was the prelude to the 10-20+ mph wind that would eventually accompany on the ridge all the way to the summit. Some old snowshoe/ski tracks throughout but they were too faint to follow, so we made our own. We decided to dodge the wind by traversing to the west and that helped a bit. Balaclava was definitely a great idea at this point! It was also much icier west of the rock-exposed ridge so make sure to bring an ice ax. The lookout tower was covered in pure white and the area had way more snow than a year ago. Most of the trees on top were buried in so only a few of them around to provide shelter from the wind. We stayed long enough to eat and take photos then started making out way down the mountain. What a glorious day on the first day of the year!

We avoided the avalanche chute and climbed up hill. I used crampons and my brother used micro spikes. I recommend snowshoes for the lower tree-line part of the trail. Then crampons once you have to climb. Because it is hard to climb with snowshoes at this steep angle. All 3 of us had snow trekking poles. On this day it was raining and lots of snow on the trail. We sunk in over waist deep towards the top and rain turned into hail blowing sideways. It was treacherous but we were laughing on the way down. Stay safe.

Went back before the snow melts. Hiked up to ski down. Great weather, lots of snow above 4000 feet, but noticeably less than the previous week. The peak still has tons of snow. Was able to ski through the woods all the way down to 3500 feet. Stayed away from avalanche chutes, they were flowing! See video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9ZbqkQ2z2M