TR: Granite Peak, MT
- From: colin favret <skleer*bracht@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 09:13:35 -0500
Hey all, as promised, here's a trip report. In my opinion, the
non-standard approach up East Rosebud Valley is majestic and more
interesting than either of the standard approaches (Froze-to-Death
Plateau or Huckleberry Creek). It is a little bit longer, though. I
didn't end up camping there, but the east shore of Lowary Lake on the SE
side of Granite Peak has well-situated and comfortable tent sites.
Camping was the subject of my inquiry here a month or so ago; thanks for
the info, Brian (in SLC).
Pictures accompanying the TR are here, if you care to take a gander:
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/crf/www/GranitePeak/GranitePics.html
Best regards, colin
In the end, the American expression ³third time's the charm² lost out to
the French expression ³jamais deux sans trois.² Three times now had I
been foiled in my attempt to climb Montana's high point, Granite Peak.
The added irony is that only twice before had I ever had to back away
from the summit of a mountain, the Grand Teton in the midst of an
all-out snow storm, and Mt. Rainier in poor conditions. So Granite had
beaten me more times that all other mountains combined.
Now to my defense, one of my mottos for life is ³if it's worth doing,
it's worth doing the hard way.² So, attempt number one in 2001 consisted
of examining a low-resolution topographic map and heading out to pave my
own way to the top. This had worked with almost all the other high
points of the mountain states, why shouldn't it work on what some
consider to be the most technically challenging? So off I went to
discover my own way up the mountain, intending to hike in one day some
26 miles round trip. I would have made it, too, except that approaching
the summit from the southwest, a mere couple hundred feet to go both in
elevation and distance, I discovered rock beyond my ability to climb
solo. Retreating off the mountain, I ended up getting side-tracked into
the wrong stream drainage. I spent an uncomfortable night bivouacked
under a rock. The next morning I walked out of the mountains to the
wrong trailhead, hitch-hiked out of the mountains to the main road and
then hitch-hiked back into the mountains to the proper trailhead where
my car was parked. The second half of that outing was a grueling
exercise in my body's ability to go without food and water, and to keep
walking, and walking, and walking.
They say that wisdom is the ability to learn from experience, and
particularly one's mistakes. So for attempt number two in 2003, I
marshaled together a hapless climbing partner and researched the
standard and most direct route to the summit (Froze-To-Death Plateau).
Of course I still had it in me to make the ~6,000 foot, ~20 mile RT
climb, car-to-car, in a single day. The outing was indeed car-to-car in
a day, but we just weren't fast enough, and turning around a mere hour
and a half from the summit was a bitter feeling. Poor Nathaniel
physically beat himself to pieces on this climb, precluding his joining
me for a (successful) climb of the Grant Teton two days later.
Perhaps the secret to climbing Granite Peak is to take more time. So
in June 2005, now armed with 2 hapless suckers? I mean, climbing
partners? and two whole days to summit, off we went on the second of the
standard approaches (Huckleberry Creek). This journey turned out very
much like the previous, hampered by slow progress, although at least
poor weather was a contributing factor. We were so slow, we even made a
second, unplanned camp, and then home away we crawled dejectedly.
At least by this point I found solace in the romanticism of failure.
What satisfaction could be gained by being beaten down again and again,
only to return and give it yet another go! Nathaniel, bless his soul,
was not quite as optimistic; but then, he's only failed on the mountain
twice. Besides, as H. W. Tilman wrote in _The Ascent of Nanda Devi_,
accounts of successful climbs are not nearly as interesting to read as
accounts of failures: ³the splendour of the mountain is undimmed, or
even enhanced.²
Despite the romantic satisfaction of repeated failures, Granite Peak
was the last of the state high points left on my tick-list (this list
restricted to the mountain states; sorry Kansas), and I felt I had to
return as soon as possible to knock it off and hopefully not soon return
to the majestic Beartooth Mountains.
I found my unlikely partner in my dear friend Jeff, whose experience
was limited but whose enthusiasm was unbounded. He wasn't likely going
to be up for the technical challenges of the final summit push, so we
agreed we'd take the scenic approach to the base of the mountain. This
also allowed me to make my fourth attempt on the mountain by yet a
fourth approach. The East Rosebud Creek Valley is stunning, with steep
cliff faces rising thousands of feet up to hidden plateaus. If I ever
come back here it will be to do some "pleasure climbing" on those
precipices. A day and a half after departing from Illinois, we were
among the spires and cliffs of the valley. A short six miles to RimRock
Lake found us at camp 1.
Reaching camp 2 began the adventure. Following the beaten trail for
another four miles or so, we then headed off trail up the Granite Creek
drainage and up a steep and wooded slope to a large moraine on the south
side of Granite Peak. The large talus of the moraine proved to be a
challenge to navigate, but a mile or so brought us to marginally level
ground, although with no nearby water source. Day three, I left Jeff to
rest, with all the food he might want but no water at all, and made my
summit bid.
The final stage of the approach was straightforward talus-scrambling
/ boulder-hopping, my forte, and a steep but relatively stable talus
slope up to Bivouac Col (between Tempest Mt. and Granite Pk.), a
landmark I had reached several times before. Onward ever upward, I
continued the ascent, pausing briefly when I got off route and
discovered the climbing beyond my comfort level. The final climb had a
high degree of pucker factor as I shimmied up a near-vertical chimney,
some 50 feet high. This was the most challenging climbing of the day,
well within my ability, but perhaps close to the limit of the kind I
should be doing alone and unroped. It turns out I was taking the harder
but more direct route.
I saw two guys ahead of me climb through the ³keyhole² right below
the summit, but I found it was much easier to simply go around this
feature. Dustin and Dennis, from Billings, Montana, were waiting for me
on the summit. After a brief photo session, it was back down we went. My
compatriots were glad to have me help them on the descent as we set up
several rappels. Dennis was even psychologically resilient when the
boulder he rapped off came loose. Thankfully the rap was less than
vertical and he was able to grab onto the mountain, and the boulder
wedged itself into the chimney. He continued on largely unfazed, but I
was more appreciative of how close we had come to tragedy. Eleven hours
after having left Jeff, I arrived back at camp with plenty of water for
dinner and breakfast the next morning.
Retracing our steps, we hiked back to the car on our fourth day, some
14 miles, and some of which was over extremely rough terrain. As is my
habit, I became more aggressive in my photography, so most of my
pictures are of the descent. It was a tiring hike and we were both glad
to make it safely back to the car. Now the big question is, now that
I've bagged the state high points (again, not counting the non-mountain
states), what comes next?
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