We wanted to take advantage of the one bright shiny day between storms, so we picked a route that would be reasonably protected from avalanche danger, and went up into the sunshine and fresh snow. My affection for snowy trees was well-satisfied today.
Peakbaggers call this peak “Tusk O’Granite,” I guess because it’s adjacent to Tuscohatchie Lake and Granite Mtn. I’d have just called it Northwest Granite, since it’s simply a side summit of Granite Mountain. Anyway, it has 406 feet of prominence, so it qualifies as a summit by the 400P rule. Hereinafter be “Tusk O’Granite” abbreviated as TOG.
We hiked the Olallie Lake trail to 3300 feet, then went up TOG’s SW ridge over Point 5180 and on to the summit at 5566. There was only one exposed spot, where we had to briefly go up the side of the ridge where it turns a sharp corner near 4800 feet.
The snow was 12-14 inches of light powder in the forest. Higher up it varied from half a foot to a couple feet deep, depending on how the wind had blown it on the crest. In the open stretches up high, we were careful to stay right on the crest or amid trees, and avoid getting onto any of the big slopes.
Up the Ridge:
Over Point 5180:
Hiking through the Rime Gallery:
Through the poetry forest to the summit:
On the summit:
More summit views:
I'll post a panorama of the summit view here tomorrow.
Going Down:
I can see why skiers love fresh powder. Back in the forest, where the snow was undisturbed by wind or sun, I could just float and glide down through the powder, even on snowshoes.
Statistics: 7.5 miles, 3650 net gain, 3810 cumulative gain, 8 hours
-------------- “As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
Thanks for posting this climb. I'll have to put it on my hit list. The Homecourt Peaks require 500 ft of prominence so this one missed the list. If it was a Backcourt Peak it would be on that list as only 400 ft of prominence would be needed.
Joined: 05 Mar 2011 Posts: 405 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA
Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:25 am
Amazing! Stunning! Wonderful! Blue sky and white fresh snow look so good together!
-------------- "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where shall my help come. My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!" - David, King of Israel 1,000 BC
yes indeed, super nice pics Matt! Thanks! And what Niko echoed about the powder... I got all excited seeing your photo of Kaleetan - instant nostalgia - having recently skied that whole face in similar conditions... actually, exactly one month earlier to the day!
And nice one of Chair too! It's looking fat (tho prob shrunk and shed some with the recent rain and warmth).
Joined: 13 Feb 2007 Posts: 3359 | TRs | Pics Location: Stuck in the middle
Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:25 am
You know how when you hear an unusual word suddenly it comes up everywhere? After your explanation that “Tusk O’Granite” was derived from Tuscohatchie Lake and Granite Mtn I came across this interesting 1897 map. Tuscohatchie has been demoted over the years -- it used to be the name for what's now called the Pratt River.
There are some other very interesting name shifts on this map.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You can download files in this forum
