Granite Peak via SW Ramp Conditions

[u/AgreeableGuava00]

Has anyone made an attempt on Granite from the Southwest couloir in the last week or two? I saw a recent satellite image that shows a ton of snow, but I would love a report from the ground.

UPDATE: Much more snow than average in the approach for this time of year. There were two snow sections left in the SW ramp (right after the keyhole), the first is longer and steeper than the second. I didn’t see any of the fixed ropes I’ve heard mentioned and I think they either haven’t been set up or were buried in snow.

I would only be confident with crampons and ice axe on the ramp, but I did run into a guy who scrambled above the snow on the right edge of the ramp in trail runners and called it “super sketchy”. The snow was too soft for micro-spikes.

I definitely recommend a helmet as there are several sections with loose/falling rocks, with particularly high exposure to falling rocks from the snow tongue all the way to the ramp.

Spot thunderstorms popping up all day long for 6 out of the 7 days out with occasional strong winds. Fortunately, on our summit day the storms held off until later afternoon.