Tusk O'Granite

Fourth time's a charm,

After three failed attempts to summit Tusk O'Granite (5,566' altitude) finally did it with Jeff Blyther on Saturday; nearly 12 mile round trip from the parking lot and 4000' gain. Jeff summated in about three hours, 45 minutes. I made the summit in four and half hours with 30lbs pack. The final 1,500' was really steep, first use of crampons since last winter. We couldn't have done it without crampons. On the climb we experienced just about every possible snow condition from none at all at the parking lot to light glaze of ice to frozen crust and finally deep powder calling for a switch from crampons to snowshoes.

The "Tusk" is a great backcountry climb. No road noise back there, very quiet and peaceful. Our tracks in the snow were the only ones. No one else had been there for a long time.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• climbing
• Mountaineering