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| Credit for this photo is http;//images.summitpost.org/original/809943.JPG |
Granite Peak was my first full on technical climb. Some say that, Denali aside, it is the most difficult of the 49 high points because of the physical endurance needed, it's technical nature, and route finding challenges. To be honest, I was not sure that I was ready to take it on. But, Greg sent me an email to tell me that he was going to Montana for a friend's 75th birthday, and asked if I was interested in climbing Granite Peak. He offered to find a guide who knew the route and I saw the perfect confluence of events, resistance was futile, I was committed. As it turned out Greg ended up not going to the party in Montana because a wildfire threatened his friend's house at the time. That did not stop the momentum hurtling us toward our project on Granite Peak.
I flew to Missoula, Montana as planned to meet Greg after the birthday party. It was too late to change my plane reservations without significantly increasing the cost. I picked up our one way car rental to Bozeman and left immediately. The next morning I picked Greg up at the Bozeman Airport. We were to meet our guide Sam Magro on August 28th to sort out gear and do some technical rock climbing. We agreed that climbing together gave us a chance to see how the team would work and allow Sam time to instruct us regarding his plans and style of climbing on Granite Peak. He had guided Matt Powell, a climbing friend of Greg and mine, on Granite. Both Greg and I had spoken to Sam several times before the trip and meeting him in person just reinforced the wisdom of choosing him. Sam now owns Montana Alpine Guides, he is a photographer and turned out to be a super good cook in addition to being a skilled guide who kept us safe and maximized our ability to succeed in climbing the mountain. Montana Alpine Guides Sam Magro
Sam's choice for our "practice/training" climb was Gallatin Tower from the back side. No climbing shoes here folks, we used our boots just as we planned to do on Granite Peak. Here is a picture from the top of the Gallatin Tower taken from the Montana Alpine Guides website.
The Tower was a three pitch climb at about 5.5 or 5.6. Turns out the climbing was very similar to what we needed to do on Granite Peak. Things went well, my confidence got a boost in the process. We ended the day early, went for additional gear and food pickup and agreed to meet in the morning at Sam's house for our drive to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.
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| Me being lowered from Gallatin Tower |
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| Sam Magro |
On day one we began with 50+ lb packs with sunny 90 degree weather. Our goal would take us up 4000 vertical feet over eight miles. Put simply, it was one of the hardest challenges I have faced. I used ever trick in the book to turn my mental attitude from "I can't do this" to "I will do this". Approximately six hours later, after sheltering for half an hour from a thunder storm, we arrived on the Plateau and established our camp. Sam cooked up some hot drinks and made hummus with olives and crackers. I do not remember ever being happier about food or more uplifted by such a simple treat!
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| Sorting out gear before departing trailhead |
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| Froze To Death Plateau is at the top in the left gap |
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| Just above Mystic Lake |
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| Just Below Froze To Death Plateau |
Route finding is difficult as you exit the trail and traverse meadows and boulders to reach Froze to Death Plateau. Sam was extraordinary at choosing an efficient route. (Again, this picture was taken in that area, but on our descent, we were simply trying to survive the climb on the way up, no one really wanted to take pictures at that point)
We established our base camp before sunset. We were alone on the Plateau on our first day. (The picture above was taken at the same location, but on our descent)
We awoke on August 30 and had a easy going morning with time to enjoy our breakfast and pack up again. The weather was great and all was going as planned. That morning's hike went well and we had plenty of time to rest after reaching our high camp above 11,500 feet. It turned out that tents had already been set up there, we were allowed to use them because of Sam's relationship with the porters who had remained after their climbers had summited and descended the mountain. It was a great morale boost and we later used those porters to help move our gear back down to base camp as we went for the summit.
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| High Camp |
I can't over state how important good food was to the success and morale of our climb. Sam cooked up delicious meals of thai noodles, mac and cheese with salmon and sun dried tomatoes, and more....just when I thought I was depleted, the end of day meal would give me the boost I needed. My past experience on Rainier and on other tough hikes has taught me how important and complex nutrition is when I'm trying to tackle a difficult project. It's not unusual for me to lose my appetite and have to force myself to eat. On this trip I seldom had to do that.
Summit day, August 31, 2013, we awoke at 4:00 am to a beautifully clear and starry night, drank coffee and ate a bagel. I was edgy as usual and found it difficult to eat. I choked down what I could about a quarter of the bagel. Head lamps on and summit packs prepared we departed at about 5:15. The initial path was navigating a boulder field, not the easiest thing to do in the dark, but before long there was plenty of light. We turned off our lamps at dawn after descending to the ridge that began our scramble up a steep sloop on the southeast side of the mountain. My nerves were on edge, I was not sure how I would handle the exposure, and this part of the climb was physically demanding. Both Greg and I settled into our paces.
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| At this notch our scramble began up the slope visible ahead |
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| Looking back down the slope we roped up here and proceeded across a small snow field, (not visible here) |
About an hour later we reached the top of the scramble and entered the technical part of our climb. Sam had us do a mixture of traversing and simul-climbing using the rope and the terrain to protect ourselves. At the top we entered a series of climbs up chimneys of moderate difficulty 5.0 to 5.6. At the very top there was what appeared to be a scary move out to the left onto a face, but it turned out to be any easy run up to the summit from there! It was pure elation to be on top. I did something that was an enormous stretch for me.
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| The technical portion |
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| From the summit 12,799 feet |
Five hours to the summit, but not quite half way done. I stuffed down more food and water as we enjoyed the view. Then we down climbed our route. It was remarkable to me how much fun I had on the technical portion of the climb. It involved so much concentration and the views were so beautiful, when I had time to look, that fear was not a factor. As we exited the technical portion on the descent, I was drained. We still had to regain the 500-600 feet we'd lost to get to the ridge after traversing the boulder field. Again, I stuffed down Gu, Stingers and Cliff Bar with water and hoped it would refuel me, then I settled again into my pace and before I knew it we had crested the boulder field and were on our way down to high camp.
Ten hours from the start we were back at high camp and snacking on coffee and soup. We repacked about an hour later and headed back to base camp. We arrived at about 6:30, thirteen plus hours from the start of our day. We set up our tents and settled in. Sam came through with another rejuvenating meal as the sun set, and we congratulated one another. It turned out that Greg's shoe had come completely apart with the soul separating from the boot. We resolved to solve that problem in the morning....But, I had no idea how. It was difficult to sleep that night because I was so happy and wound up. Greg and I marveled at the beauty of a crescent moon rising on the horizon and more stars than I had ever seen spanning 360 degrees of skyline, meteors occasionally raced to the edges of the earth with blazing tails.
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| Wild mountain goats were our constant companions at high camp |
We woke to another beautiful sunny day on September 1st. Just one problem now, descending eight miles and 4000 feet to our trail head with a blown out shoe. One more aspect of our charmed climb led to the solution. A neighboring camper, on her way up the mountain that day, came to our site and asked us sheepishly if we had extra coffee. Apparently, she was responsible for her group's coffee and had forgotten it in the car. We were happy to drop some weight and offered her whatever she needed. In the course of our conversation Greg showed her his blown out shoe. Minutes later her boyfriend Chris, a doctor in Butte, walked back to us with a strong suture needle. He took an hour and completely sewed Greg's boot back together. Miraculously the boot held for the entire descent back to the car...problem solved!
We ended the trip in Fishtail, Montana with a burger and a beer at the Cowboy Bar. I had such a feeling of accomplishment, and gratitude toward both Greg and Sam. A finishing note, my prayers for Ross Lynn, a good friend of Sam's who died in an tragic accident just before we left for our climb. I will be forever grateful to Sam for his professionalism and his ability to maintain his focus in the face of a loss like that.
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