Winter Scramble - West Granite Mountain

After Tuesday's blizzard and Tuesday night's Bomb Cyclone, we headed to the mountains to enjoy tons of fresh powder. By far the hardest part of the trip was the drive to the trailhead, as almost the entire Eastside was in the dark. In the sixty mile drive from my home to the trailhead, I did not see a single home with power, including the towns of Juanita, Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah, and North Bend. Multiple roads were closed by downed trees and/or powerlines. Most of the traffic lights were dark. (And way too many drivers haven't a clue that a dark traffic light is to be treated as a Stop sign). The drive to the trailhead took twice as long as usual, but boy, oh boy, was it worth it!

Due to the potential avalanche danger and continuing high winds, we opted to move our destination from  Granite Mountain to the adjacent West Granite (a.k.a. Tusk of Granite).  We followed the trail to the Ollalie Lake junction, turned due east and gained the ridge, then turned north to the summit.  Until we reached the ridge, the terrain protected us from the continuing strong east winds, but the moment we crested the ridge, the conditions turned bitterly cold. The ridge line was constantly buffeted by 20-30 mile winds, but ten feet before the ridge, the air was still. 

After a short summit sojourn, we went part way down the ridge, then opted to turn west early in order to wallow in the deep snow that had accumulated  in the west-facing basins. What a joy it was to plunge downhill in fresh light powder that was more than three feet deep in places!

Returning in the dark, we hoped to find an open restaurant in North Bend or Issaquah, but both cities were still completely in the dark.