What It’s Really Like to Climb the Grand Teton
Ever want to know what it’s like to climb to the summit of the Grand Teton? This past weekend, Alpenglow took a crew up to the summit of the Grand and guide Brian Warren wrote a great post describing their experience.
“During the four days of the Alpenglow Expeditions & Jackson Hole Mountain Guides “Big Mountain Skills” training program, the crew was able to practice and put to use many of the skills needed to climb not only the Grand Teton, but also to continue on to bigger peaks around the world. The trip began with Day 1 of the program and the group left Lupine Meadows and made their way to the Corbet High Camp that sits just below the East Face of the Grand Teton at 11,000 feet. This day mostly consisted of getting to camp and settling in as well as covering some basics with the climbing gear in the late afternoon.
On Day 2 of the program the crew spent time just outside of High Camp and started to learn all the skills needed to rock climb in the alpine environment. They covered belaying, rappelling, placing and cleaning gear, as well as solid rope management along a high alpine rock ridge traverse. The crew also got to practice fixed line travel as well as some improvised rescue techniques, including self ascension and belay escapes.
On Day 2 of the program the crew spent time just outside of High Camp and started to learn all the skills needed to rock climb in the alpine environment. They covered belaying, rappelling, placing and cleaning gear, as well as solid rope management along a high alpine rock ridge traverse. The crew also got to practice fixed line travel as well as some improvised rescue techniques, including self ascension and belay escapes.
On Day 3, the group decided to climb the Grand Teton as the weather was looking more intimidating on the 4th day. They got an early alpine start around 3 a.m. and had breakfast and coffee in the hut. The crew then set out towards the south side of the Grand Teton aiming for the classic Exum Ridge. They were able to climb with clear skies and cold temperatures along the alpine route with no other crowds. It was an amazing day to move up the classic climb to the summit of the Grand at 13,775 feet. This route covered technical terrain for close to 2,000 vertical feet, which allowed the group to use all the skills they learned on Day 2.
The morning of Day 4 had some inclement weather but the crew was still able to get over to the Middle Teton and practice the basics of snow travel and crevasse rescue on the Middle Teton Glacier. This area has a very steep glacier and and a few large cracks that make for a perfect venue to play around with newly learned glacier and snow mountaineering skills. In late afternoon, the crew descended back to Jackson Hole and took the opportunity to shower up before heading out for a great meal and celebration.”
-bw
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