Such a great November day. The ridge from the saddle short of Cupid all the way to Grizzly was almost completely wind-blown and dry. I was up here two weeks prior and there were deep snow drifts along the route to Cupid, so I was surprised to see such little snow. Was grateful to have my spikes in one section on the ridge where it got a bit more narrow and scrambling was involved. In retrospect I probably could have avoided that entire section, but I didn't know where the summer route was (this was my first time on this section of the route), so chose a class 2+ down-climb into sugary snow. It felt totally safe to me, but I realized it was avoidable once I finished that section and looked back.
The final 800 or so vertical feet to the summit of Grizzly looks far more intimidating than it actually is, though I would imagine it could get treacherous later into the winter/early spring when it holds more snow and ice. On Saturday, though, there was hardly any snow on the final push up to Grizzly. Incredible views of Grays and Torreys and the A-Basin ski area. Summits of Cupid and Grizzly weren't windy at all, but every other section of this hike was very windy!
|