Forum Index > Trip Reports > Granite Mtn (I-90) 3-16-07
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
SlowWalker
Perma-grinner



Joined: 23 Aug 2005
Posts: 888 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
SlowWalker
Perma-grinner
PostWed Mar 21, 2007 9:28 am 
I've done Granite Mountain once before, in the summer, but I've read a lot of TRs about winter trips to Granite and my buddy jt had been talking about skiing Granite Mountain for several years so we decided to go for it last Friday. The weather forecast called for rain and the temps had been hovering around freezing all week, so we didn't know what kind of conditions we'd find. If there was freezing rain or even a lot of regular rain, our plan B was to head a few miles up the road to Alpental. Fortunately for us, the weather forecasters changed their mind early Friday morning and decided we would have a day of clearing skies... and they were right. We were the first to park at the trailhead at about 10am. We each had packs loaded with ski gear, water, food and warm clothes. My pack weighed in at 45lbs with skis, boots, poles, helmet, camera, and everything else. I chose to do the ascent in my leather hiking boots and strap my alpine ski boots to the pack. jt hiked up in his tele boots. The first two miles were on good trail, the rest was pretty much straight up on the snow. We followed the wind scoured west ridge up, occasionally on rock, rising into the clouds. The wind was blowing the clouds by quickly, though, and we felt sure they would be gone by the time we reached the top. Four hours and nearly 4,000 vertical feet later, we reached the top of Granite Mountain and had a break at the lookout tower. We shared the summit with two friendly day hikers and their dog and chatted about other hikes that would be possible this time of year. We spent over an hour at the summit, the skies cleared and Mt Rainier was even visible to the south. Avy danger was minimal, so we put on the skis and dropped into the south face. The snow was not quite warm enough to be corn, but was soft enough that it wasn't very heavy, which made for some nice turns. Pinwheels of snow rolled down the slope as we skied. We worked our way down the first chute to almost tree line where the old avy debris piled up, then moved over to the second chute and worked our way as far down as we could. We ended up making it about 2,600 ft down before we had to give up the skis and bushwhack back to the west until we found the trail again. We picked up the Pratt Lake trail less than a mile from the trail head. It was a very good time, and I give a big thanks to jt for slowing down enough to let me keep up. up.gif
Wind scoured ridge
Wind scoured ridge
Skis at the summit of Granite Mountain
Skis at the summit of Granite Mountain
Tower and cornice
Tower and cornice
Looking North from Granite Mtn to Crystal Lake and Upper Lake Tuscohatchie
Looking North from Granite Mtn to Crystal Lake and Upper Lake Tuscohatchie
Lookout Tower, Granite Mountain
Lookout Tower, Granite Mountain
summit pano
summit pano
JT skiing Granite Mountain
JT skiing Granite Mountain
SnoqPeaksPanskitrack
SnoqPeaksPanskitrack
granitemountainskiingtrack
granitemountainskiingtrack

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostWed Mar 21, 2007 9:41 am 
Great report and pics SW. Love that pano....

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Magellan
Brutally Handsome



Joined: 26 Jul 2006
Posts: 13116 | TRs | Pics
Location: Inexorable descent
Magellan
Brutally Handsome
PostWed Mar 21, 2007 4:11 pm 
Good stuff, SW. Two weeks ago there was three extra feet of snow at the TH! I like your ski line, also.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
SlowWalker
Perma-grinner



Joined: 23 Aug 2005
Posts: 888 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
SlowWalker
Perma-grinner
PostWed Mar 21, 2007 4:42 pm 
Hey, thanks guys! I should mention that the two pictures that I drew our lines on were not taken by me, so they were not actualy taken on this 3-16-07. I grabbed them from Turns All Year and I hope they don't mind too much. I struggled a bit under the weight of my gear for the last 1,000 feet of climbing, but once on top I completely forgot about that.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
summithound
Climbing Connoisseur



Joined: 26 Jul 2004
Posts: 1766 | TRs | Pics
Location: Everett, WA
summithound
Climbing Connoisseur
PostWed Mar 21, 2007 6:52 pm 
Thanks for the trip report SlowWalker. The mountain sure looks different in the snow!

Pain is just weakness leaving the body.
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
mgd
Member



Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 3143 | TRs | Pics
Location: Full Moon Saloon
mgd
Member
PostWed Mar 21, 2007 7:13 pm 
Nice pictures and great panorama. Thanks for labeling the peaks. up.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
dicey
custom title



Joined: 11 May 2004
Posts: 2870 | TRs | Pics
Location: giving cornices a wider berth
dicey
custom title
PostWed Mar 21, 2007 7:39 pm 
Sheesh! That is a LONG way to carry skis/boots up! Glad it was worth the effort up.gif

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Magellan
Brutally Handsome



Joined: 26 Jul 2006
Posts: 13116 | TRs | Pics
Location: Inexorable descent
Magellan
Brutally Handsome
PostWed Mar 21, 2007 8:25 pm 
Ha! I remember seeing two guys with skis on their back in spray park in early August. confused.gif Turns-all-year; those guys climb 4000' and do a brutal bushwack to get 400' vertical in!

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
SkyeBlu
Member
Member


Joined: 21 May 2006
Posts: 52 | TRs | Pics
SkyeBlu
Member
PostFri Mar 23, 2007 5:24 pm 
Nice Pics. We're planning to do Granite next week. Is your red line the preferred route? How was the avy chute? No skiis on our trip. Expect to kick steps. Would snow shoes be a good option? Thanks

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
SlowWalker
Perma-grinner



Joined: 23 Aug 2005
Posts: 888 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
SlowWalker
Perma-grinner
PostMon Mar 26, 2007 11:56 am 
The red line represents our approximate route up, which is the winter route up that wind scoured ridge. I can only only tell you what it was like on the 16th, of course, but at that time the avy danger was very low because heavy rains earlier in the week meant things that were likely to slide had already slid. I hiked up with ski poles and leather hiking boots. Snowshoes would not have been useful on that day, but other hikers used an ice ax instead of poles - you definitely want one or the other. It has snowed more since then and probably rained too, so be sure to judge the conditions on the day of your trip. Have fun!

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Trip Reports > Granite Mtn (I-90) 3-16-07
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

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