From the town of Coleman, turn north onto Highway 40 (Forestry Trunk Road) from Highway 3 (there is a Subway on the northwest corner of the intersection).  Drive for 9.5 kilometres (the pavement turns to gravel just outside of town) and turn right (east) onto Daisy Creek Trail.  Ignore all side roads and drive for about 2.9 kilometres before crossing a narrow bridge.  Drive an additional 3.5 kilometres to reach a turnoff to a locked gate on the south side of the road.  In dry conditions, Daisy Creek Trail should be suitable for 2WD vehicles at least as far as the locked gate, but the road does begin to deteriorate somewhat as it climbs beyond the narrow bridge (beware of occasional large rocks sitting in the middle of the road).

On this day, a large patch of snow prevented us from parking near the locked gate at the start, and although this only meant that we had to walk an extra seventy metres or so, we probably should have paid closer attention to the poor quality of the snow which would have ramifications for us soon after.  Beyond the locked gate, we followed the continuation of a wide gravel road which initially turns eastward going past a vast open plateau.  Where the road appears to turn back to the west, we left it to ascend a small clear cut and gain a rough exploration road higher up.  We followed this second road southward only briefly before leaving it to climb up a steep hillside leading to the north end of Grassy Mountain.  Somewhat unexpectedly, we now faced a blanket of deep and mostly unsupportive snow covering the ridge.  Stubbornly and perhaps foolishly, we forged ahead and post-holed up the ridge.  Although we would occasionally encounter sporadic islands of bare ground, we were mostly wallowing through hip-deep snow for the next two kilometres.  Not surprisingly, our progress slowed to a crawl, quite literally in a few places.  After over three hours of post-holing hell, we only made it as far as the north end of the summit ridge.

By now, we were all mentally frazzled, but just when we were almost ready to give up, the snow conditions miraculously improved.  For some reason, the snow pack on the summit ridge was much more supportive which allowed for easier travel.  More surprisingly, we encountered a series of rocky pinnacles here, and we were all delighted to scramble on top of these all the way to the summit.  There is some mild exposure on this rocky section of the ridge, but the scrambling is never more than moderately difficult.  The summit itself sits right on the edge of an immense open strip-mine site which is, at the same time, both devastating and sublime.

After a short break at the summit, we turned around and backed out the way we came.  A second round of scrambling on the pinnacles was followed by a lengthy egress more or less along our broken tracks in the snow.  Although our progress was generally quicker this time, we were still constantly stumbling and sinking in the snow right to the bitter end.  Once we cleared the last of the snow, we stopped for a quick break to wring out our wet socks before hiking the remainder of the route back to the locked gate without further issues.

	Marta, Shaun and Zosia pass a locked gate at the start of the trip.
	Beyond the locked gate is a vast plateau with far-reaching views to the south.  At far left is Grassy Mountain while Bluff Mountain and Greenhill Ridge (centre) can be seen further in the distance.  The main access road continues out of view to the left.
	Shaun leaves the access road and ascends a small clear cut.
	After briefly following an exploration road, Shaun, Zosia and Marta climb steeply up an open hillside.
	Sonny and Shaun encounter a lot of unavoidable snow near the north end of Grassy Mountain. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny quickly finds out that the snow here is not supportive at all. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Progress through the deep unsupportive snow is naturally slow.
	The deep snow begins to drive Sonny crazy. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Shaun walks across a rare supportive section of snow.
	Marta follows Sonny to the start of a much-welcomed rocky section of the summit ridge. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny, Marta and Shaun scramble along the rocky section of the summit ridge. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Shaun and Zosia wait while Marta descends into a gap along the rocky ridge.
	Marta and Shaun watch Zosia climb out of the same gap along the ridge.
	Shaun, Zosia, Sonny and Marta stand on a spacious ledge near the summit of Grassy Mountain (2087 metres).
	Visible to the east are Centre Peak (left of centre) and Caudron Peak (leftmost of two bumps at right).

The south end of Grassy Mountain is a big open pit coal mine.

 

	The group enjoys a second round of scrambling along the rocky ridge on the way back.
	The snow is surprisingly supportive along this covered road.
	The group descends the last few hundred metres of snow-covered terrain near the north end of Grassy Mountain.  A short section of Daisy Creek Trail (road) is visible in the distance at centre.
	None the worse for wear, Zosia, Marta and Shaun leave Grassy Mountain behind them as they return to the vast plateau near their starting point.
	Total Distance:  9.5 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  8 hours 37 minutes Net Elevation Gain:  251 metres GPX Data