May 26, 2008, - Granite slush gully update

Long time lurker, first time poster....  After two days of yard projects at home, had some time Monday for a quick outing and headed up Granite.   

Climb uneventful but warm, and we had nice steps to follow once we hit continuous snow around 3,600'.  Summit very pleasant - light wind. 

Started descent at 11:30 - first 1,000' vert very soft but smooth.  Next (and last) 1,000' vert was in the avy gully proper - and a sloppy mess.  All the more challenging with the glissade chute down the middle from all the hikers/climbers.  That brought us just shy of where the summer trail crosses the gully.   Still, nice to get 2,000 feet on Granite this time of year - hard to say how long it will last. 1 Hour top to bottom including transition time and the casual hike to the lot.