Glacier Mountaineering Society

Sat, May 7 2016 - Granite Park Chalet Bike-Snowshoe (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Tim Anderson
Participants:		Tim Anderson, Karen Schuster, Patti Markuson, Carolyn Remmel, Diane Lundgren, David Schuler, Charlotte Jansson, April Seubert, Gary Seubert, Stacey Endebrock, David Endebrock, Lou Herritt

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Write Up:
This was the largest group I have had for this yearly excursion. The 12 of us met at Avalanche Creek Campground and biked the 7 miles up to the loop. We walked the trail, it was slow going as a large number of dead trees, from the 2003 fire, had fell over the winter. I counted over a hundred tree lying across the trail. About a mile from the chalet we finally reached snow and put on our snowshoes.

Sunny and hot, I have made this trip just about every year for the last 7 and have never seen it so hot. In the past if it was sunny everyone would bask in the heat on the chalet's front deck. This year many were hiding in the shade under the deck. I'm sure I'm not the only one that ended up with a sun burn in spite of sun screen.

We took a cross country route down the east side of the trees. I had made this trip 1 week earlier and was shocked by how much snow had melted in 1 week, nearly 3 feet gone, that moved the bottom of the snow line a quarter mile up the mountain, nearly 300 feet of elevation.

As always the coast down from the loop was fun, nothing like a 30mph breeze to cool you off. On return to Avalanche We grabbed a picnic table next to the river and relaxed in the shade with chips, salsa, and beverages.

Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Tim Anderson at twamontana@gmail.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.