Teton National Park was the next stop on the Raff’s summer road trip itinerary. We had a quick preview of the park at the end of June during our drive to Ten Sleep. Based on that view of the mountains, we were under the impression that there was way too much snow, so the likelihood of climbing was quite low. We thought we would at least enjoy some hiking and maybe even go rafting, so we headed south to the Tetons.
Upon arrival at the park, the first order of business was to secure a campsite. We knew the drill… wait in line, hope lots of campers decide to checkout, and be nice to the rangers in hopes of getting a good spot. A good spot in my mind is shady, somewhat private, has a view, and is close but not too close to the bathrooms. We lucked into a spot that checked 3 of the 4 boxes.
Next order of business, head to Jenny Lake to talk to the climbing rangers. Jenny Lake is a very popular area, and the parking lot was a zoo! Lots of things to do here, and everyone arrived at the same time. Luckily, not too many people were waiting to talk to the rangers. Much to our surprise, the climbing route on Grand Teton was almost in summer conditions, and there was a perfect weather window if we left the next day. After getting beta on the route from the ranger, we decided to go for it!
At this point, it was early afternoon. We had minimal time to prepare for a 3 day climb – our first alpine climb of the year! The packing ended up not being difficult, as the only options for gear were in the van. So, no thinking about which tent to bring or which pack, etc. After packing, we madly researched the route as much as possible. Normally, we would research an alpine climb for a few days, print beta and pictures. This was a quick job, but we felt like we had enough to be safe.
The next day was go time. It was going to be hot, so we got an early start for our 7.5 mile hike with 5000’ of elevation gain. My pack was 36 lbs. and Mike’s was 38 lbs. With camping gear, rope, rock climbing gear, ice axe and crampons, it was not an outrageous weight, but being the first overnight climb of the year, it felt heavy! As we started hiking, I had my doubts… How would I do with the altitude (base camp was at 11,600’), would my legs hold up with the weight, would we have any energy to actually climb after the approach, etc… We decided after discussing our worries, that no matter what we would have fun, be safe and consider this a training climb for Mt. Whitney.
The first 4.3 miles to gain 2500’ were on a good trail traveling through lupine meadows with a few sections of switchbacks and then a boulder hopping section at the end. At this point, we were at the meadows camping area at 9300’, and we got our first good view: South, Middle and Grand Teton. Middle Teton was imposing directly above the meadow. It had a vertical black dike on the face that was impressive!
We talked to several parties that were descending and everyone had a good climb. They also all told us that we didn’t need ice axe or crampons! Good for tomorrow, but bummer that we were carrying the extra weight to base camp.
From here, we traveled up steep switch backs, boulders and a moraine trail to just below the lower saddle where we would camp. From here we had 2 options: traverse a steep snow field or climb up a short cliff on a fixed line. We opted for the snow as there looked to be good steps and we wanted to use our ice axes!
We made it to camp in 6 hours. I was surprised by how good I felt at altitude as I usually have a bad headache and nausea. We really haven’t been below 5000’ in the 6 weeks we have been on the road, so I think it paid off! We also both felt pretty good. A little tired, but not exhausted. We set up camp in a sheltered spot – huge boulder on one-side and rock wall on the other. Our camping spot hit 3 of the 4 boxes. The only one that was short was the bathroom. Per instructions from the rangers, we had to pee into Idaho which meant we had to climb 10 minutes uphill to the true saddle to pee. Not too bad during the day, but in the middle of the night – not awesome!
As we spent the afternoon relaxing, we scoped our route and talked to a few other groups. We had 2000’ to climb to the summit from here. Based on how we felt, we began to be optimistic about our chances!
For an alpine climb day, we had a reasonable start time of 6:30. The first objective on our route was to pass the black dike and find the “eye of the needle.†This is basically a tunnel to gain the ridgeline in the easiest way. We quickly figured out the black dike and after a few minutes found the tunnel. We thought this would be the biggest route-finding challenge, but we were wrong. The next objective was to find a notch in the ridge that we could cross to gain Wall St. (a ramp to gain the Exum Ridge – our route). After a quick look, I thought we had farther to climb before our traverse. So up we went. At our next view, we were 300’ too high. So, back down we went. We wasted about an hour trying to figure this section out.
Eventually, we made it to Wall St. where we geared up to start the technical climbing. We had 1500’ vertical to go. The first pitch is a short traverse, but boy did it get our attention. You must make an airy hand traverse around a boulder to gain the ledge. The next pitch (Golden Staircase) was a golden granite ramp with knobs. It was fun and easy.
From here, the climbing gets easier, so we simul-climbed. This means that we were both climbing at the same time, but had protection attached to the rope. This allows us to move fast, but it is a little riskier as if one falls, they have the potential to pull the other. But the protection will keep us both attached to the mountain. We only do this when it is easy and low risk.
As we continued to get higher, we came across some more harder sections that we pitched out (went back to normal climbing methods). The Friction pitch (way easier than any Fred Beckey slab in the NW) and the V-pitch. Both were fun!
Once more section of simul-climbing and we were on the summit! We had it to ourselves and it was a blue-bird day. We could see lots of mountains, lakes, and meadows. It was amazing! We both felt good too which I couldn’t believe with the altitude at 13,775’! We celebrated, ate and took pictures before starting our descent.
The descent is down a different route than we climbed, so we were extra cautious on our route-finding after this morning’s mistake. Also, we were starting to get a little tired, so we took our time. We found our 2 rappels, and the rope pulled cleanly both times – huge sigh of relief. We were then on 4th class terrain back down to the “eye of the needle.†4th class means that you must use your hands and sometimes turn around and down-climb. We had to be methodical and careful, but also efficient as we started to see dark clouds forming. Just as we passed the eye of the needle, it started to sprinkle. We picked up our pace even more. As we hit the top of the saddle, it started to pour so we ran/walked the last few minutes. Once at the tent, we hurled ourselves inside and tucked our bags away to wait out the storm. We just settled in and the hail started, then lighting and thunder that felt like it shook the ground under us. It stormed for 1.5 hours and at one point, we had 2 inches of hail outside the tent. Our tent, which was on its maiden voyage, did great and held up to the wind gusts and rain. We were snug in our tent and so very thankful to be down before the storm.
Eventually it let up and the sun came out. We laid out all our wet gear, ate dinner and enjoyed the view of the route we just climbed! 6 hours to the summit and 5.5 hours down to camp. After dinner, the clouds started to roll in again, so we jumped back into the tent for the night.
We woke in the morning to rain. Ugh, how I hate packing up camp in the rain! We put on all our rain gear and quickly packed up camp. We opted to skip the snowfield and instead rapped the cliff. Once we were back in the meadows, the sun came out, and we ditched our rain gear. We made fairly quick work of the descent, getting out in 4.5 hours. Our bodies were tired but motivated to get out of our boots and drop the pack! About 30 minutes from the trailhead, we were surprised to find a young black bear 25’ from the trail. Mike quickly grabbed his bear spray, but it was too busy eating to even notice us! We enjoyed a quick view and were surprised at the length of his fur. His nickname is Mullet. With a little new energy, we made it to the van. A cold beer awaited, and I was so happy to drop the pack!
We spent the next 2 days at the Gros Venture Campground recovering and enjoying the town of Jackson. We finally used our awning – we needed the shade at camp to enjoy the view. We caught up on journals, dried out gear and relaxed.Â
One our best finds on the trip so far was the Jackson Recreation Center. For $8, we got a towel, hot shower and unlimited day use of their sauna, hot tub and pool. We went 2 times in 2 days as it was so nice and felt good to our tired bodies! We also celebrated with a nice dinner out at Bin 22 where we enjoyed 50% off wine pours (awesome happy hour) and a selection of cheese, meatballs and lamb chops!
It was an amazing and exhausting adventure. The mountain is so iconic and as we looked at it from camp, I still couldn’t believe we climbed it! I am thankful that our active summer got our bodies ready for the climb and that we were able to safely summit and descend. We will have to come back someday to sample a few more of the Teton climbs, but for now, I am happy we got our unexpected, successful climb of the Grand Teton!
