Granite Peak with my CPAP…

[Nunyacreek]

Spoiler.. we didn’t make it to the summit. That aside..
I had known several people who had submitted Granite and some who had not. Trip reports vary wildly describing the difficulty and we ran into at least one guy who had left the parking lot that morning and summited and was hiking back to his car that afternoon… not for me.
I went with my 16 year old daughter and another dad and his three teenagers. The other dad was a very experienced climber who had done it three times. His kids were good climbers, my family is not. I also enlisted a very competent friend Wyoming who had done it a few times and is very competent backcountry climber.
To help those who might be interested ill go into some trip details.
We left the Mystic lake parking lot around 1 on a Thursday and hiked about three miles and up a thousand feet and camped on the lake. Swam and enjoyed it. Friday we hiked up many switchbacks to the Froze to Death plateau and then several miles across the rocky alpine plateau to the camp by Tempest Mt. at about 12,200 feet. It was a long slow day, beautiful but tough, around 4000’ of elevation gain in 9 miles or so, well over half of it without trails. Camping in this spot is a neat experience, barren and forbidding, with incessant wind. We used the rock shelters already there for our tents. Several resident goats hung around and we went to bed to flapping tents and a restless night.

 

[Nunyacreek]

I inadvertently posted several photos twice… sorry.
Next day we got up hiked down 800’ or so and climbed back up toward the peak. We got to the famous snow bridge and most of decided that was far enough. The route from this point is very exposed and though we had ropes, harnesses, and expertise with us, decided it was simply harder than we wanted to attempt. It’s absolutely gorgeous but for me, at least, extremely intimidating. I did cross the snow bridge but the rock beyond was out of my comfort zone.

 

[Nunyacreek]

The snow bridge and beginning of the hard climbing is at the flat bench about 700’ below the summit and visible at the little saddle high up in the second photo. After snacking and enjoying the view we turned back, climbed down 800’ and back up 800’ to camp , packed up and walked back the 9 miles and 4000’ down to the lake. We spent the night at the lake and walked out the final 3 miles on Sunday.
I am 51, in ok shape, and very comfortable backpack hunting. I am by no means in great shape and this was a tough hike for me, but totally doable. I mentioned the CPAP because altitude really bothers me without it and I get a lot of questions about it. I brought a battery and my travel Cpap which weighed about 4lbs total. It lasted 3 nights no problem and I wouldn’t go without it.
As it happens I wore trail runner tennis shoes and they were definitely easier than boots, but my feet were sore from rocks. My pack weighed about 40lbs with water but I did end up carrying some of my daughter’s stuff.
All in all it was a great trip with great friends and it was fun to test my limits a bit. I’ve never backpacked in summer before and it really is a lot easier than hunting, I’ll say that, in terms of gear and weight. For those that are interested my CPAP is a mini-Z and the battery I bought on Amazon. I’ll include a photo to finish the post.

 

[Dakotakid]

Great job!
You were so close.

 

[MTGomer]

You’re brave sleeping up there with the weather we’ve been having. Few things are worse than being that high in the lightning.

 

[Wild Bill]

Cool trip.
I have zero knowledge/experience with a CPAP or how much power they draw, but I'd imagine if you're looking to save weight you could look into a lithium battery. Probably more expensive but definitely lighter.

 

[JBS]

Cool trip, Great pictures.

 

[bowhuntmontana]

Thanks for the report, and awesome adventure with your daughter. I have been all over that area but never to the peak. Went with a few friends several years ago with the intent to summit but didn't get to the top for a number of reasons. The Beartooths are an amazing place and the scale is hard to wrap your mind around.

 

[Nunyacreek]

That was one thing I found striking when camped up high. I could see the lights of Billings pretty easily to the north and could see the mountains on the south side of Cooke City to the south. the Beartooths are not that big in terms of distance but are so rough, so high, so difficult to travel that you could easily never find an unlimited ram..