Objective: Granite Peak – 12,788′ – Highest Peak in Montana
Leader: Per Frost
Co-leader: Stephen Corcoran
Participants: Rachel Flaksman, Suzanne Blundell, Allison Lynch, Warren Wagner, Bob Hagerty
D1: Arrival day in Bozeman. Checked in at LaQuinta, Belgrade (airport hotel) after completing shopping for fuel canisters and bear spray at REI and Sportsman’s Warehouse.
D2: We (Rachel, Allison, Warren, Bob and I) drove to Cooke City (through Yellowstone) where we met Suzanne and Steve (had arrived a couple of days earlier and spent a few days in Yellowstone) for lunch. After lunch we made our way to the Lady of the Lake TH a few miles outside of Cooke City and started our approach hike. After a little over 3 miles with some 600 ft of elevation gain, we setup camp at pleasant meadow a bit to the north of Lady of the Lake.
D3: With a leisurely start to the day, we made the ~6 miles / 2,000 ft. of elevation gain hike to our high camp. Good trails most of the way but after Rough Lake, the trail wasn’t really obvious anymore. Route was, however, more or less obvious and marked with cairns here and there. We decided to settle on setting up our high camp along an unnamed lake a bit before Sky Top Lake which is the most common area used for high camps. We had 4 tents and finding suitable areas where we could secure good spots for all were not easy. We made a good choice and had a very nice setting for our camp. Mountain goats invaded our camp overnight but did not really cause any problems.
D4: Summit day. D4 and D5 were our options for summit day and D4 looked like the better day weather-wise. All felt good, so, we decided to go for it. A ~6-mile roundtrip with some 2,300ft of elevation gain. We left camp just before dawn (~5:30AM) and travelled only 20mins of so with headlamps. Mostly a cross-country trek along the lakes with occasional cairns marking the route. Passed a couple of snowfields before reaching the SW ramp around 10:30AM. Met 3 other parties (2, 2 and 1) coming down as we made our way up the ramp. Steep and with lots of loose rock. One point was particularly difficult and we spent some 15 mins assessing and trying to get through/over it before Steve was able to climb it. He anchored our short rope (30m) and the rest of us were able to get over this point with the assistance of the short rope. We reached the summit 1:30PM. Descending was a bit sketchy due to all the loose rock but with good weather we just took our time. We used the short rope on 2 sections – not really rappelling but just using the rope as an extra aid. Bob being by far the best and most experienced rock climber in the group “cleaned-up” after us and downclimbed the route without aid. Our scariest moment came about a third of the way down when Bob accidentally dislodged a microwave-sized boulder which then came crashing down passing everyone else. A bit shaken but nobody got hurt. It wasn’t really Bob’s fault as we had all passed through the same area and probably all contributed to loosen the rock. We got caught in a 15 min rain-hail storm shortly before getting back to camp. A bit unpleasant, but no danger. We arrived back at camp 8PM after a 14 ½ hour day.
D5: After some showers and thunder in the morning, the day cleared up nicely and we decided to start our trek out. It got quite warm during the day but we made our way back to the same campsite we had used a couple of days before without any problems.
D6: We hiked out in the morning and drove back to Cooke City for coffee and pastries at the local coffee shop. Suzanne and Rachel did a stellar job securing campsites for a couple of days at Grant Village in Yellowstone. Then our group split with Suzanne, Steve, Allison and Warren heading to Avalanche Peak. Bob, Rachel and I went to Canyon Village and “played tourists”. We all met up again for dinner at Grant Village.
D7: Our group split up again. Suzanne, Steve and Rachel went to the Canyon Village area to hike in the “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone”. Allison, Warren, Bob and I went to Shoshone Lake. All had a fine day with spectacular weather.
D8: Drove back to Bozeman after touristic but quite pleasant stops at West Thumb Geyser Basin and Old Faithful. We finished the day with a superb team dinner at Montana Ale Works.
D9: Travel day and we all went our separate ways. Steve, Suzanne and Rachel went home. Allison and Warren spent and extra day in Bozeman. Bob went to the Grand Tetons and so did I but only after a detour to Idaho.
Respectfully submitted,
Per Frost
October 23, 2025.
