The Alpine Peanut has become an ice climber, so we headed to arguably Grand Teton National Park’s most classic winter ice route – Prospector Falls. We worked our way up the main flow at solid WI4.
I’ve written two previous articles on Prospector Falls already (see notes below), so we’ll keep this tastefully short and focus on the punch line – Bobbi has joined Team Ice, and totally crushed her first sustained WI4 multi-pitch. When the Death Canyon Road is closed – as it was today – a nearly unjustifiably long approach guards this excellent ice climb. Some years I’ve walked in approach shoes from the summer trailhead in December – ideal. Other years I’ve skied from the winter road closure over sparsely covered concrete, talus and bushes – not ideal. Today Bobbi and I walked in ice boots over an icy road and snow dusted summer trail – quasi ideal-ish. No matter what way you cut the cookie, the ice-to-walk ratio on Prospectors is unfavorably skewed, but remoteness, positioning, and a 70 meter pitch of truly classic ice climbing in Grand Teton National Park rewards the effort.
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The scene entering Death Canyon was captivating, driving snow flurries and socked in haze that gradually relented with every passing step, exposing baby blue skies and a crystal clear Gros Ventre Range backdrop by the time we tied in. No boot-pack, stomped out belays, pick holes or screw holes indicated we were almost certainly the first ascent of the 2024/25 season. Pitch one was predictably thin, aerated in many spots with the same claustrophobic bulge at the top – a nice 30 meter head primer. From a fixed belay of five rusty pitons we broke the money pitch into two by way of a sloped snow ramp with a small rock cave on the left extremity, just beneath the steep ice. I didn’t notice a fixed rock anchor on this ledge until I was dangling from two screws belaying Bobbi. The 20 meters to this intermediate belay were standard WI3 with a few technique intensive mantles. With Bobbi tucked into the cave I launched into the money pitch, an amazing 50 meter dance that started with 20 meters of near-vertical climbing on a broad curtain with captivating candle and cauliflower features. The ice through this section was sticky and resisted fracture, allowing for the fluid “one-stick, one-kick” climbing of my wildest dreams, with supreme exposure. Above the steepness, a standard half-rope of bulging ice features winded to a fixed anchor on the western wall. I was very impressed Bobbi handily followed the crux pitch without weighting the rope, as the movement was quite three-dimensional and involved many delicate foot placements, and long reaches between solid ice for tools. It’s safe to say she’s really getting the hang of this ice thing.
While technically three more short pitches exist above the main falls, the fourth and fifth rarely form and the third is mostly snow – today interspersed with ample rock – and a 10 meter step of WI2. I climbed pitch three two years ago with Erik Boomer en’ route to a dry pitch four. 98% of Prospector parties retreat from pitch two, and so did we. We descended the route with a single 70 meter rope by way of the fixed anchor on climber’s right above the falls, a v-thread just above the steep ice that reached the bottom of pitch two with inches to spare, and a final rappel from the fixed piton anchor above pitch one. Currently, Prospector Falls is the steepest I’ve ever seen it, with high quality ice throughout. As usual, groveling up the right extremity would likely yield an easier climb, but the plum line is in superb shape with delicate terraced curtains reminiscent of a miniature Golden Tiers. A rack of 11 screws was scant for my comfort. With two for the semi-hanging belay on pitch two, and one just above to guard said belay, I was left with a mere eight screws for 50 meters up to WI4 – that’s about one screw per 20 feet – I’m glad my crampons were feeling sticky. Next time I will bring at least 14. We reached the car at a semi-casual pace of 12:45 minutes round trip, not bad considering we set the entire boot-pack from valley level through unconsolidated sugar snow. Ice climbing with Bobbi has been a pure delight, and all signs indicate she’s only getting started!
Resources
Previous Ten Thousand Too Far articles:
Guidebooks:
- Teton Ice (Garrick Hart)
- Best Climbs of Grand Teton National Park (Richard Rossiter)
- A Climber’s Guide to the Teton Range (Renny Jackson and Leigh Ortenburger)
Prospector Falls is also on Mountain Project
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DISCLAIMER
Ski mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing and all other forms of mountain recreation are inherently dangerous. Should you decide to attempt anything you read about in this article, you are doing so at your own risk! This article is written to the best possible level of accuracy and detail, but I am only human – information could be presented wrong. Furthermore, conditions in the mountains are subject to change at any time. Ten Thousand Too Far and Brandon Wanthal are not liable for any actions or repercussions acted upon or suffered from the result of this article’s reading.
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