Sat, Jul 19 2025 - Grizzly Mountain (View Original Event Details) Coordinator(s): Greg P, Michael Contrada Participants: Michael Contrada, Mike Petrangelo, Jean Petrangelo, Greg P, Lori Niebaum, Kristen Kellard

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Six of us assembled in the parking lot under gray, rainy skies. We were optimistic and eager, however, since there were no fierce winds – either in the forecast or at the parking lot - which had stopped both coordinators in the past from completing the climb of Grizzly. The hike to Cobalt Lake went quickly even though we paused to enjoy the wildflower meadows and put on and off our rain jackets. As we ascended to the saddle above the lake, the wind picked up and our progress slowed. We had to lean hard into the gusts as we made our way to Chief Lodgepole and Two Medicine Pass. Intermittently, we could feel rain pelting our faces even though it never seemed to touch the ground in the strong wind. At the Pass, we left the trail and followed the goat paths to the ridge leading to Grizzly. Once on the ridge, we started climbing toward the peak, now shrouded in clouds. We paused to make sure everyone wanted to continue despite the on-and-off drizzle and the stiff wind. No one wanted to give up yet, so we skirted the false summits making our way to the peak. Our footing was decent and we climbed easily, finally breaking out onto the summit block. We didn’t stay long since the clouds obscured the views and we knew the descent would be slow. The lichen on the talus proved slippery and the traverse back to the Pass arduous but we reached the the trail and could relax. We finished our lunches and enjoyed the vistas as the clouds and drizzle began to give way to partly sunny skies. The hike out felt especially long. (We had gone 19 miles in total with almost 4000 feet of elevation gain in 13 hours.) Nevertheless, everyone was pleased we had completed our ascent of Grizzly.

Summit photo in album (left to right): Greg Pagano, Kristen Kellard, Lori Niebaum, Mike Conrada, Jean Petrangelo, Mike Petrangelo