"Snowshoe in deep unconsolidated snow from Olympic Village. The first mile of the Granite Chief Trail was very well packed and progress was swift. For the next 1 mile, I followed a single set of snowshoe tracks, but these petered out some distance below the Sierra Crest. I broke trail for ~2 miles up to and along the North Ridge, making exhausting, but steady progress towards the summit. Things got really tough in the last 300 vertical feet where the slope reaches 40-50 degrees. Despite the scary exposure, the powder was so loose that the risk of a bad fall was very low, but I couldn't make upward progress. The snow was simply too deep and loose for the snowshoes to get a hold. I tried climbing rocks, I tried climbing trees. I tried kicking steps, I tried traversing over to the side. After 30 minutes of unproductive thrashing about, I called it quits, a mere 150 vertical feet below the summit. Frustrating, but I was out of gas. I'll need to comeback in March when things have firmed up a bit. Nonetheless an awesome outing in untouched snow on the Sierra Crest!" — klotito • Jan 1, 2021

"Did this as part of a three-peak climb: Granite Chief, Needle Peak, and Lyon Peak. We started from the fire station at Squaw. The wildflowers are spectacular right now. It was a super long day, so I see why so many people only do Granite Chief! Had lunch at the summit of GC before continuing on to the other two peaks." — kaylam87 • Jun 30, 2018

"Hiked Granite Chief, Needle Peak, and Lyons Peak in one day. There is a clear trail to Granite Chief and it's off trail to Needle and Lyons Peaks. After summiting Lyons Peak we headed (bushwacked) south to connect onto the Tevis Cup Trail. Saw two black bears. " — runningvegan • Jun 30, 2018

"Booted up from the Granite Chief chairlift on its opening day in what's so far been a low-snow season... eyed dropping in the main chute but the coverage looked a bit iffy. Next time." — scott • Jan 21, 2018

"The trip up was pretty uneventful but the trip back was another story. I had planned on climbing Needle and Lyon Peaks along with this one. Halfway to Needle Peak I heard the roar of thunder. I hunkered down hoping it would pass. Once it appeared to be somewhat subsiding I decided to give up attempting those two peaks and started to head back to Granite Peak. As I got back near the summit the thunder and lightning intensified. I hunkered down again but then I felt the first few drops of rain. By this time it was 4PM and I figured I'd have to get moving if I wanted to make it back to my truck before dark. I had a flashlight along but I wasn't too confident I'd be able to find my way in the dark because the trail had many different offshoots. Then it started absolutely pouring. I hadn't brought a rain jacket so I was getting soaked. The temp had also dropped about 20 degrees so was getting chilled to the bone. Then it started hailing on me. I stopped many times under the branches of a big pine tree to get some shelter from the rain/hail and to try and warm up but each time I did it was pushing me closer to being caught out there into the dark. After a few minutes I'd he..." — Sledhead29 • Sep 8, 2017

"Started hike from fire station next to Squaw Valley Village. Hiked a total of 8 miles (to top of peak and over to Squaw Valley Ski Resort to ride the tram back down to village. Great views. Lots of beautiful clouds. " — monicahealey • Sep 4, 2016

"No snow until ~7,500, then pretty consistent cover. Headed directly up the North Ridge, was steeper then expected but the snow was soft enough where there wasn't a huge risk of falling." — Christopher • Feb 3, 2015