West Granite to Granite Traverse

Approach

The trip starts from the trailhead for Pratt Lake which is also the start for the standard Granite Mountain route.

Route Description

Instead of taking the turnoff to Granite Mountain, continue on the trail to Pratt Lake. Before you reach the ridge where you begin the descent to Pratt Lake, you will cross a large open talus fields. A few hundred meters after crossing the talus field, head off into the brush and trees to the right. There was no obvious turnoff or cairn when we did it. The goal here is to get up onto and remain on a faint ridge. Eventually, this will open up out of the trees at the base of the ridge to the summit of West Granite Peak. This is a large talus slope. In the summer or in deep snow, climbing this talus field should not be a problem. If the snow cover is sparse (6-12 inches with lots of gaps between the rocks) the travel up this talus slope can be tricky. This is followed until the summit of West Granite. From there, the route to Granite Peak is easily visible. One follows the summit ridge down the east side to a saddle between West Granite and Granite Peaks. From there, head a bit south onto the west face of Granite and follow this up to the summit.

Essential Gear

As a winter trip: snowshoes, crampons, ice ax
As a summer trip: rope not necessary

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.

Images

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