Granite Mountain — Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025

Rina reporting,

Me and my dad wanted to go hiking today with my friend and they couldn't make it.

We started slowly and got to the trailhead and it was very cold. But once we started moving, it got warm pretty fast. As we reached the first chute, the trail looked reasonable and we put on micro spikes, which really helped. From there it was just snow all the way.

As we passed the fourth chute, it opened up and we just started going up the many steps that lots of other hikers had put in the snow. From here, it really got steep and I was getting tired.

 Once we reached the boulder field we checked the route and my dad put on a lot of layers as it was windy and cold. We slowly went up the boulder, caution really needs to be used here as there were several sections that looked really bad. It took us 20 minutes or longer to reach the look out. We didn't stay long as going down the boulder route was going to be tricky so we used extreme caution as we were going down.

Once we reached the bottom of the boulder field, I was running down the snow. We slowly reached the first chute, took off our spikes and had something to eat here. We made it back safely to the trail head.

This is a very difficult trail in the snow and you need good knowledge of the trail. Please use proper gear going up and going down.

Also please check the avalanche conditions as the weather changes. Especially on Granite.

Gear used was hiking boots, base layers, puffy jacket and hard shell with microspikes. A neck gaiter really helps with cold wind. At the start of the trail be cautious, as there is ice.

After this I had a large DAIRYQUEEN BLIZZARD, and I had the new flavor of REECES PIECES COOKIE DOUGH.

Rina out!