6 miles of hiking • 3750' elevation gain •
With a nice forecast over the weekend, I decided to be responsible and do some yard work around the house. Wait a minute......shouldn't I be climbing ??? Yes, but how I am going to fit this in and still be responsible ?
Well I decided to leave work a bit early on Friday and not be sooooooo responsible after all !!!!
The original plan was to do Mount Si, but after TAH and few others bailed out on me. I changed my plans and set my sights on Granite Mountain. At first it was a typical spring climb up Granite. Then I hit the 1st Chute and things changed. I could see all the left over debris from the Avalanche that occurred on March 22nd and took the life of a local skier.
I evaluated my options and found a safe path just to the right of the chute. It was a mix of scrambling and kicking steps in patchy snow. As I got higher up on the mountain, I could see the impression of the crown that broke off during that slide. It still looked like there was a fair amount of snow sitting above that area.... definitely something to keep your eye out for if you are heading up there anytime soon. With temps on the rise it is probably best to stay clear of the chute and stick to the winter route up the west ridge line.
As the light faded away, a beautiful sunset greeted me just as I crested the ridge. I sat down and got fueled up for the final push to the lookout. When I reached the lookout, the sunset was fading and the sky was now lit by the almost full moon. The moon was so bright, I didn't even need a headlamp for my descent on the upper portion of the mountain. Once I hit the trees it was time to shine some light and slog out. All and all a great trip to head into the weekend !!!
