Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

14ers in California and Washington state or any other peak in the USA
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Quadsonfire
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Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by Quadsonfire »

Hello all, just wondering if anyone has the experience from past climbs to compare/contrast any 14er routes/sections to parts of Granite Peak. Myself and 3 other gentlemen will be attempting GP in a few days. As it stands we're going East Rosebud, FTD plateau, then standard route up east ridge. The remainder of the climb past Tempest/Granite saddle is the area of concern, to no surprise. I've read many trip reports but would love to hear about comparisons to 14ers specifically. Up to this point some of the more difficult 14ers I've completed would probably be Sunlight, Eolus(x2), Wilson Peak, El Diente, and traverse to Mt. Wilson. I've lived in Billings, Mt for over 6 yrs and I can't believe it's taken me this long to attempt the giant in my back yard! Any info is greatly appreciated! :-D
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dsunwall
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by dsunwall »

I would say Capitol is the closest in comparison. Granite has a slightly more difficult final summit climb but maybe less visual exposure than the knife edge. It can be done without gear but you might want to rappel down for the sake of safety and speed if a storm rolls in. As far as what you have done, Mt. Wilson might be closest in comparison but Granite will be a little more involved in all ways.
Last edited by dsunwall on Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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ChrisinAZ
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by ChrisinAZ »

Agree with dsunwall, from what I've heard--Granite from the north is supposed to be tougher than Capitol. The "class 4" is apparently more like low 5th, and most people seem to rope up on Granite, whereas very few do so by the easiest route up Capitol.

Coming from the south via the SW Couloir route is much easier from a technical standpoint--I'd compare it to Snowmass overall, or perhaps Crestone Needle with a twelve-mile approach and a bit less exposure. Either way, Granite is a fantastic climb!
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ptyrg
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by ptyrg »

Granite peak has some high quality Granite (rock).But also has a fair amount of exposure. I would recommend a rope, and a light rack. I often compared Granite peak as the Grand Teton's little sister, good rock, same weather patterns, tough approach. If Granite peak was a 14ers, I would say it would be the hardest of the fourteeners, along with Capitol. I might even say It is comparable, to Kieners route on Longs Peak, minus the lambs slide.
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by Quadsonfire »

Wow, thanks a lot guys! I've had this question in my head for months but never thought about putting it on here-this is awesome. I know a lot of time, money, sore muscles, and little sleep went in to you guys being able to give some insight to this topic-it's invaluable info to me and the rest of our group, thanks again. Unfortunately I haven't made it to Capitol yet, as it sounds like it is most similar. A section I did in mid July that, based on pictures, looks very similar was a spot on the Wilson traverse when going west to east-I'll try to describe it: we got down to a smooth low saddle where we basically could have walked into either Navajo Basin(to our left) or Kilpacker(to our right), then it was the first up-section after that. I think it basically got us up to West Wilson. The pictures of the chimneys on Granite 'look' very similar. But as we know a picture can never capture how it 'feels' when you're actually there doing it. Any thoughts?
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by SarahT »

The cruxy parts of the std route are tougher than anything on a std CO 14er route; expect some low 5th class by Colorado standards. If you are not used to scrambling low 5th class you need a rope and light rack; do not expect it to feel like Colorado 4th class or be of comparably difficulty to Capitol, Wilson-El Diente traverse, or any other Colorado 14er or std 14er traverse. Even if you are ok upclimbing the whole thing without a rope you will want a rope for rapping down.
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Quadsonfire
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by Quadsonfire »

Thanks SarahT-great info. Have you put a trip report online-summit post maybe-I feel like I read some good info somewhere lately by a Sarah.? Oh, and do u think there would be a way to up climb standard route, then down SW col, and return to FTD plateau? Obviously to avoid having to down climb the 5th stuff-we haven't went gung-ho on purchasing all the technical gear-as we haven't ever climbed anything that it was essential on. Our group is young/nimble (20's & 30's), but recognize the mountains don't care about that and know strength/flexibility still can only get you so far on certain climbs.
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by smoove »

SarahT wrote:The cruxy parts of the std route are tougher than anything on a std CO 14er route; expect some low 5th class by Colorado standards. If you are not used to scrambling low 5th class you need a rope and light rack; do not expect it to feel like Colorado 4th class or be of comparably difficulty to Capitol, Wilson-El Diente traverse, or any other Colorado 14er or std 14er traverse. Even if you are ok upclimbing the whole thing without a rope you will want a rope for rapping down.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but are you planning this winter to become the first woman to climb all the 14ers in calendar winter, Sarah? Just took a peek and noticed how damned close you are!
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by Monster5 »

Don't be fooled. Total amateur. I asked her to let me jug up after her on Turret Ridge this weekend and all I got back was some girly excuse about weather. As if lightning wasn't all mental.
smoove wrote:
Sorry to hijack this thread, but are you planning this winter to become the first woman to climb all the 14ers in calendar winter, Sarah? Just took a peek and noticed how damned close you are!
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by mtgirl »

Quadsonfire wrote:Thanks SarahT-great info. Have you put a trip report online-summit post maybe-I feel like I read some good info somewhere lately by a Sarah.?
That would be sstratta (another Sarah). Here is a link to her recent report. We have two awesome climbing chicks named Sarah who post on here. :)
http://14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.ph ... ki=Include" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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dsunwall
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by dsunwall »

mtgirl wrote:
Quadsonfire wrote:Thanks SarahT-great info. Have you put a trip report online-summit post maybe-I feel like I read some good info somewhere lately by a Sarah.?
That would be sstratta (another Sarah). Here is a link to her recent report. We have two awesome climbing chicks named Sarah who post on here. :)
http://14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.ph ... ki=Include" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
although a few years ago it could have been SarahT Meiser. http://www.13ergirl.com/granite/granite.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
also check out her latest Wyoming 13er climbs. Mt. Koven is an excellent one.

sstratta's report for Granite by a nonstandard route was excellent as well, I agree.
Quadsonfire
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Re: Granite Peak, Montana vs. 14ers

Post by Quadsonfire »

Dsunwall-u nailed it-that's the one! It's been one of the most informative reports I've read, the pictures are fantastic!
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