1.8 mi to summit
3.8 mi total
7,459 ft start
10,116 ft max
2,588 ft gain
3 hr 14 min to summit
5 hr 35 min total
There was a bit of fresh snow, so we wanted to try a snow climb of Harris Mountain before it was gone. We could tell right away that it wasn't very deep, so we left our snowshoes in the car. We quietly hiked through the housing before gaining a steep ridge. The winds were howling through the trees and we could see the clouds coming over Griffith Peak and towards us. We still had about 45-60 minutes before the summit, so I kept the group close together - if we got caught in a white-out, I didn't want anyone getting lost (we didn't). The winds were blowing so hard near the summit that I decided to leave my pack, since it was catching too much wind and throwing me off balance. We made it to the summit and everything cleared up for a few minutes and the wind calmed. It was amazing! It was still super cold, so we didn't stay up there long. We headed back down, picked up my pack and made our way back roughly the same way. We didn't need our crampons or ice axes at all. Note - It was exactly 5 years ago to the day that I snowshoed up here previously. Winds were 45+ mph that time and even worse this time!
road/access issues, routefinding, rockfall/loose rock, snow on route, weather
trekking poles, mountaineering boots, GPS device