BrackenVSpencer - Aug 13, 2018 12:34 pm Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2018
7th attempt finally ends in success!
Had made six prior unsuccessful attempts due to weather, altitude of others in the party and once for hitting turn-around time. Finally made it with two outstanding guys, started at 4:00 am, watched the Perseid meteor shower over Granite while descending the face of Tempest, were on the summit by 9:30 and back to camp just after 14:00!! A great day, a great climb! God is Good!! <><
huskertriguy - Aug 1, 2018 12:02 pm Date Climbed: Jul 30, 2018
SW Ramp, State Highpoint #45
I have never experienced such a beautiful summit day anywhere. We definitely lucked out. And only 4 people total summited, so we had it to ourselves.
Camped at 10.4k feet near the highest of the Sky Top lakes.
Be aware that the SW ramp earns its nickname as "the bowling alley." Rockfall is inevitable. Multiple parties on this route at one time could be quite sketchy. Exposure on the higher portions of the route is significant. This is not a mountain on which to acquire experience; prior technical climbs should be mandatory.
jrlang45 - Nov 7, 2017 3:02 pm Date Climbed: Aug 6, 2016
SW Route via Skytop
SW ramp via the Skytop Creek in two days: camped at the base and went all the way up and back to the car on day two. If I did it over again, I'd make it three days because I didn't really have a chance to enjoy the campsite or hike out on the second day to avoid getting stuck on the trail in the dark. Note: it's impossible to NOT cause small gravel slides on the way down that can turn into RL Donkey Kong further down the ramp, so know where other people are and yell even if you think you're alone.
kgamradt - Sep 30, 2017 6:45 pm Date Climbed: Aug 18, 2017
Granite Peak
Solo hiked in from Lady of the Lake trail north of Cooke City, past Aero Lakes and camped above sky top lakes. Left camp at 630am, and climbed the southwest ramp. There was a tough class 3+ section that turned back 3 other climbers about midway up the ramp. The ramp was full of ice and I was forced to scramble up some steep rocks just climbers left of the ramp. Summited at 1015am. I brought no climbing gear with me, but would recommend at least a helmet.
Young Royce - Apr 29, 2017 11:35 pm Date Climbed: Aug 14, 2016
East Rosebud, FTD, Summit
Quite the challenge, be sure to bring plenty of water! FTD plateau is pretty lengthy. Camped on FTD, summited next day, stayed one more night and back to East Rosebud TH.
GlacierCountry - Aug 26, 2016 12:00 pm Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2016
Awesome adventure/new friends
Took my 19 year old daughter with me, and 2 new friends from WI. Was Grant's 45th state high point at age 65. Summited Tempest but not Granite (to snow bridge) due to weather. Still a great trip. My daughter's 19 year old friend fell on descent of Granite a week later and suffered a terrible head injury. Always take rope and helmet!
Moonknightca - Aug 23, 2016 9:16 pm Date Climbed: Aug 5, 2016
HP # 39
Summited with great weather via Froze to Death with Beartooth Mountain Guides. Fantastic Trip. -WCH
Tracy - Aug 19, 2016 12:40 am Date Climbed: Aug 16, 2016
Via SW ramp
I climbed this one with David Odenwalder who I met at the highpointers convention three days earlier in Red Lodge, Montana.
paclimber - Aug 16, 2016 11:28 pm Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2016
2nd Summit
10 years to the day from my first summit. This time with my 16-yr-old nephew. Excellent weather. Another awesome climb!
Adam Doc Fox - Aug 16, 2016 2:57 pm Date Climbed: Aug 9, 2016
Rockfall is Fun!
Dude from Ohio, Boston, San Jose and Minnesota all walk into a bar named Granite...
Pretty fun for four complete strangers.
SW Ramp is dumb, btw. Too much rockfall. If I wasn't a coward I would have gone standard route.
and again on 08/29/2015 with Kevin. A long time dream for Kev to summit and I was stoked to be there with him and to guide him even though he looks scared schmittless in all our summit photos. Hahaha! I'm luck to be 2 for 2 on Granite! Both via high camp at Sky Top Lakes.
Remember, if you are kicking rocks loose in the couloir you're doing it wrong!
There was still plenty of snow and black ice in two spots in July and nothing the following year in August. Woke up the morning of my July ascent to the Upper Sky Top frozen over. Made for some hard snow and ice in the gully which required front pointing and concentration on the way up. In August with no snow it was far easier.
For the easiest route, you will get to an amphitheater/3rd or 4th class rock at the top of the couloir where you will want to go right to the ridge separating the couloir from the gash.
Marlin - Jan 31, 2016 10:28 pm Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2012
1st attempt
Climbed via the Froze-to-Death Plateau route. The FTD Plateau route may not inspire warm and happy thoughts; but ascending via the FTD route ensures a greater success rate than the Huckleberry Creek Trail. Campsites on the FTD Plateau have limited water sources, but are 2,000' higher than campsites in Huckleberry Creek drainage making an easier summit day. Mountain goats visited my campsite every day. Dined at the Cowboy Bar & Supper Club in Fishtail, Montana to celebrate.
Super Dave - Oct 23, 2015 2:45 pm Date Climbed: Sep 12, 2015
SW Ramp
Excellent 3-day trip with boisedoc and team. Great climb in a beautiful area. Hiked in to Sky Top basin on first day, and then summited via SW ramp route on day 2. I’d consider the route low 4th class, but lots of loose rock, so wear a helmet. I especially enjoyed the scramble section on the upper ridge after the ramp. Trip Report
boisedoc - Sep 15, 2015 11:52 am Date Climbed: Sep 13, 2015
great trip
enjoyable three day trip with a strong group up Skytop basin and the southwest couloir. The upper basin in beautiful but lots of talus hopping. We had great weather but I suspect there will not be many more summits this season. Armed with numerous trip reports, we had no difficulty with route finding. The SW Couloir (ramp) has plenty of loose rock and we were relieved that there were no other parties on the mountain. There are a couple of ropes in place right now that were helpful on the down climb. This route reminded me a lot of the Hourglass couloir route on Little Bear in Colorado.
Fantastic route. Camped the night prior at the Lady of the Lake TH and hiked up the next day with Greg Jagielski. We took a short cut bypassing the Aero Lakes by sticking to Sky Top Creek drainage. Possibly saved a couple miles RT and some elevation gain. See GPS track on Peakbagger http://www.peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=543029. The potential of thunderstorms motivated us to hurry a bit and we reached to summit in just over 5 1/2 hours. Roundtrip hiking was 26 miles in 10 hours 22 min.
russw - Sep 1, 2015 4:22 pm Date Climbed: Aug 15, 2012
SW route
Camped at Rough Lake, 2-3 hrs from there to summit with good weather, no snow or ice. Take 2nd col past the big slab off to your right.
Karl Helser - Aug 18, 2015 7:05 pm Date Climbed: Aug 13, 2015
East Ridge via FDP...
Second Summit of this mountain. Great conditions on climb day. Had thunder and lightning with hail the night before...and lots of goats. Bucket loads of water on Froze to Death Plateau. Snow bridge is gone.
sroot - Jul 16, 2015 11:53 am Date Climbed: Jul 14, 2015
2nd State High Point
Took the SW Ramp up on the morning of the 14th which was absolutely beautiful. My oldest brother did the majority of the route finding which had only minor difficulties along the way. I had no idea that there would be technical moves involved but it was such a fun experience that I can't wait to tackle another mountain like it. With Mt. Borah (Idaho) being my only other state highpoint, this was a fun second step. Gannett Peak in Wyoming has my eyes on it!
Hiked into the Sky Top basin the first night, headed for the summit the second day. Had a nice break in weather, and we headed up the SW "ramp" as it is described in several trip reports. VERY fun and challenging climb up the ramp, some places there were fixed ropes which were a nice help. We may have lost the correct route near the top, as we had some 4th class moves that were pretty exposed. Once we gained the ridge that connects to the summit ridge, it was easy going. Beautiful skies and a terrific view!
BrackenVSpencer - Aug 13, 2018 12:34 pm Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2018
7th attempt finally ends in success!Had made six prior unsuccessful attempts due to weather, altitude of others in the party and once for hitting turn-around time. Finally made it with two outstanding guys, started at 4:00 am, watched the Perseid meteor shower over Granite while descending the face of Tempest, were on the summit by 9:30 and back to camp just after 14:00!! A great day, a great climb! God is Good!! <><
huskertriguy - Aug 1, 2018 12:02 pm Date Climbed: Jul 30, 2018
SW Ramp, State Highpoint #45I have never experienced such a beautiful summit day anywhere. We definitely lucked out. And only 4 people total summited, so we had it to ourselves.
Camped at 10.4k feet near the highest of the Sky Top lakes.
Be aware that the SW ramp earns its nickname as "the bowling alley." Rockfall is inevitable. Multiple parties on this route at one time could be quite sketchy. Exposure on the higher portions of the route is significant. This is not a mountain on which to acquire experience; prior technical climbs should be mandatory.
jrlang45 - Nov 7, 2017 3:02 pm Date Climbed: Aug 6, 2016
SW Route via SkytopSW ramp via the Skytop Creek in two days: camped at the base and went all the way up and back to the car on day two. If I did it over again, I'd make it three days because I didn't really have a chance to enjoy the campsite or hike out on the second day to avoid getting stuck on the trail in the dark. Note: it's impossible to NOT cause small gravel slides on the way down that can turn into RL Donkey Kong further down the ramp, so know where other people are and yell even if you think you're alone.
kgamradt - Sep 30, 2017 6:45 pm Date Climbed: Aug 18, 2017
Granite PeakSolo hiked in from Lady of the Lake trail north of Cooke City, past Aero Lakes and camped above sky top lakes. Left camp at 630am, and climbed the southwest ramp. There was a tough class 3+ section that turned back 3 other climbers about midway up the ramp. The ramp was full of ice and I was forced to scramble up some steep rocks just climbers left of the ramp. Summited at 1015am. I brought no climbing gear with me, but would recommend at least a helmet.
Young Royce - Apr 29, 2017 11:35 pm Date Climbed: Aug 14, 2016
East Rosebud, FTD, SummitQuite the challenge, be sure to bring plenty of water! FTD plateau is pretty lengthy. Camped on FTD, summited next day, stayed one more night and back to East Rosebud TH.
GlacierCountry - Aug 26, 2016 12:00 pm Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2016
Awesome adventure/new friendsTook my 19 year old daughter with me, and 2 new friends from WI. Was Grant's 45th state high point at age 65. Summited Tempest but not Granite (to snow bridge) due to weather. Still a great trip. My daughter's 19 year old friend fell on descent of Granite a week later and suffered a terrible head injury. Always take rope and helmet!
Moonknightca - Aug 23, 2016 9:16 pm Date Climbed: Aug 5, 2016
HP # 39Summited with great weather via Froze to Death with Beartooth Mountain Guides. Fantastic Trip. -WCH
Tracy - Aug 19, 2016 12:40 am Date Climbed: Aug 16, 2016
Via SW rampI climbed this one with David Odenwalder who I met at the highpointers convention three days earlier in Red Lodge, Montana.
paclimber - Aug 16, 2016 11:28 pm Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2016
2nd Summit10 years to the day from my first summit. This time with my 16-yr-old nephew. Excellent weather. Another awesome climb!
Adam Doc Fox - Aug 16, 2016 2:57 pm Date Climbed: Aug 9, 2016
Rockfall is Fun!Dude from Ohio, Boston, San Jose and Minnesota all walk into a bar named Granite...
Pretty fun for four complete strangers.
SW Ramp is dumb, btw. Too much rockfall. If I wasn't a coward I would have gone standard route.
josephbschmitt0415 - Jul 13, 2016 11:22 pm Date Climbed: Jul 28, 2014
SW Couloirand again on 08/29/2015 with Kevin. A long time dream for Kev to summit and I was stoked to be there with him and to guide him even though he looks scared schmittless in all our summit photos. Hahaha! I'm luck to be 2 for 2 on Granite! Both via high camp at Sky Top Lakes.
Remember, if you are kicking rocks loose in the couloir you're doing it wrong!
There was still plenty of snow and black ice in two spots in July and nothing the following year in August. Woke up the morning of my July ascent to the Upper Sky Top frozen over. Made for some hard snow and ice in the gully which required front pointing and concentration on the way up. In August with no snow it was far easier.
For the easiest route, you will get to an amphitheater/3rd or 4th class rock at the top of the couloir where you will want to go right to the ridge separating the couloir from the gash.
xbaghat - Apr 23, 2016 2:48 pm Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2015
almost forty six...
Marlin - Jan 31, 2016 10:28 pm Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2012
1st attemptClimbed via the Froze-to-Death Plateau route. The FTD Plateau route may not inspire warm and happy thoughts; but ascending via the FTD route ensures a greater success rate than the Huckleberry Creek Trail. Campsites on the FTD Plateau have limited water sources, but are 2,000' higher than campsites in Huckleberry Creek drainage making an easier summit day. Mountain goats visited my campsite every day. Dined at the Cowboy Bar & Supper Club in Fishtail, Montana to celebrate.
Super Dave - Oct 23, 2015 2:45 pm Date Climbed: Sep 12, 2015
SW RampExcellent 3-day trip with boisedoc and team. Great climb in a beautiful area. Hiked in to Sky Top basin on first day, and then summited via SW ramp route on day 2. I’d consider the route low 4th class, but lots of loose rock, so wear a helmet. I especially enjoyed the scramble section on the upper ridge after the ramp. Trip Report
boisedoc - Sep 15, 2015 11:52 am Date Climbed: Sep 13, 2015
great tripenjoyable three day trip with a strong group up Skytop basin and the southwest couloir. The upper basin in beautiful but lots of talus hopping. We had great weather but I suspect there will not be many more summits this season. Armed with numerous trip reports, we had no difficulty with route finding. The SW Couloir (ramp) has plenty of loose rock and we were relieved that there were no other parties on the mountain. There are a couple of ropes in place right now that were helpful on the down climb. This route reminded me a lot of the Hourglass couloir route on Little Bear in Colorado.
scgrant - Sep 13, 2015 11:58 pm Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2015
SW Couloir from Sky Top BasinFantastic route. Camped the night prior at the Lady of the Lake TH and hiked up the next day with Greg Jagielski. We took a short cut bypassing the Aero Lakes by sticking to Sky Top Creek drainage. Possibly saved a couple miles RT and some elevation gain. See GPS track on Peakbagger http://www.peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=543029. The potential of thunderstorms motivated us to hurry a bit and we reached to summit in just over 5 1/2 hours. Roundtrip hiking was 26 miles in 10 hours 22 min.
russw - Sep 1, 2015 4:22 pm Date Climbed: Aug 15, 2012
SW routeCamped at Rough Lake, 2-3 hrs from there to summit with good weather, no snow or ice. Take 2nd col past the big slab off to your right.
Karl Helser - Aug 18, 2015 7:05 pm Date Climbed: Aug 13, 2015
East Ridge via FDP...Second Summit of this mountain. Great conditions on climb day. Had thunder and lightning with hail the night before...and lots of goats. Bucket loads of water on Froze to Death Plateau. Snow bridge is gone.
sroot - Jul 16, 2015 11:53 am Date Climbed: Jul 14, 2015
2nd State High PointTook the SW Ramp up on the morning of the 14th which was absolutely beautiful. My oldest brother did the majority of the route finding which had only minor difficulties along the way. I had no idea that there would be technical moves involved but it was such a fun experience that I can't wait to tackle another mountain like it. With Mt. Borah (Idaho) being my only other state highpoint, this was a fun second step. Gannett Peak in Wyoming has my eyes on it!
droot - Jul 15, 2015 10:30 pm Date Climbed: Jul 14, 2015
Fun climb up the SW rampHiked into the Sky Top basin the first night, headed for the summit the second day. Had a nice break in weather, and we headed up the SW "ramp" as it is described in several trip reports. VERY fun and challenging climb up the ramp, some places there were fixed ropes which were a nice help. We may have lost the correct route near the top, as we had some 4th class moves that were pretty exposed. Once we gained the ridge that connects to the summit ridge, it was easy going. Beautiful skies and a terrific view!