A non-technical alternative to the East Ridge, approaching from the south through the Sky Top Lakes basin and finishing up a couloir on Granite's south face; increasingly popular because it avoids roped rock climbing.
Access is from the Cooke City side via the Lulu Pass/Goose Lake jeep road rather than West Rosebud. From a small parking area near an old mining cabin, the route follows the Lady of the Lake trail past the Aero Lakes and into the Sky Top Lakes drainage, a long approach comparable in overall length to the East Ridge approach. From the Sky Top Lakes valley, climbers aim for a large slab on Granite's southwest face, scrambling up talus and passing a tarn before reaching a low saddle near Cairn Mountain. A snowfield below the slab typically requires crampons and an axe. At the base of the slab, the route turns into a couloir system (locally known as Couloir 1, or the "SW Ramp") that climbs a gully above the slab, over steep snow and loose rock, to a scramble on more solid rock leading to the summit ridge.
Descent generally reverses the ascent couloir; parties should expect the same steep snow and loose rock encountered on the way up, and should be off the upper mountain before afternoon storms build.