Each year I mourn the loss of Granite Mountain. It was early November last year when the risk of avalanche exceeded my tolerance and I retreated to saferterrain. And each spring I wait eagerly for the conditions to open the mountain to me.
The wait is over. Granite's open!
That's not to say Granite in the snow in the spring is for everyone. The snow began at the first switchback in the meadows. Without a trail, we relied on past experience to find our way. Without that experience we might have been confused by the low clouds that erased the boundary between the land and the sky.
I had resigned myself to a gray summit, but two descending early hikers (a 2am alpine start is early, even for me) claimed there was blue sky just ahead. We chased the glimpses of blue as we climbed the winter route along the ridge, but it was always just out of reach.
Pro-tip: Don't fall off the ridge or fall into the holes between the rocks or fall backward or fall forward... basically don't fall.
Amazingly, we did get above the clouds when we reached the summit. Barely. Rainier was still hidden, but the local peaks were just above the clouds. I carved a chair in the snow and set up the camera to get an epic timelapse of the clouds blowing through the mountains. Sorry. I think I kind of jinxed it for everyone else.
With the sun gone it actually got chilly so we headed down. Unlike our usual descents that are an easy, but sometimes boring walk down the mountain, coming down in the snow is an adventure.
First is the ridge. It was steep on the way up so it's steep on the way down, but the promise of a full on tumble made it seem even more fun. And Treen? She loved it.
After the ridge comes the meadows. It's really the meadows that make Granite Mountain one of my favorites and although they don't feel particularly steep there are plenty of opportunities for glissading on the way down. And yes, Treen loved it.
Even the walk out on the bare trail was pleasant. Plenty of people heading up to enjoy the winter-like conditions in the meadows, but not so many I felt like it was crowded. The big surge of hikers will come when the weather is better and the summer route opens up. By then, even more of the high country will have thawed so that's where we'll be because we really, really love the snow.
Extra bonus: I saw my first pika of the season in the rocks by the lookout. With just my phone the evidence might not be research grade, but I submitted it to the ASC Pika Project anyway.
