Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
Hot Dogs, first established by Paul Gagner and Jim Woodmency in July of 1986, is an excellent single pitch 5.9 crack climb on the south buttress of Storm Point, about 100M east of Guide's Wall - perhaps the best 5.9 pitch I've climbed in Grand Teton National Park. If you're in the area and need another pitch, don't miss this!
On Tuesday June 6th, Connor James and I climbed another could-be-classic from the Ortenburger-Jackson book. It has a cool name, follows a very proud line and, as typical for Teton routes established in the 70's, felt pretty stiff for 5.8.
First alpine climb of the year with Mike Parri, on Lower Highway To Heaven, an adventurous "seven pitch" 5.8 outing on the SE Ridge of Storm Point. Dry rock and good times. Included is concise route description, as the one provided by the FA party is almost too descriptive and long.
An updated and thorough topo of the Chouinard-Frost Chimney on the north face of Disappointment Peak in Grand Teton National Park.
A week before the onset of winter 2022, Connor James and I connected the dots on a more sustained variation to the traditional, and somewhat classic, Cardiac Aretes (5.9/5.10-, II) on Omega Buttress. Our line followed the lower half of Man O’ War (5.8, II) for two pitches of adventurous and varied, albeit discontinuous climbing... Continue Reading →
Seizure Disorder is a single pitch 5.10- variation to the original South Ridge (5.9, II, 5 pitches) route on Baxter's Pinnacle. No Perches Necessary is a short but worthy two pitch affair at the mouth of Cascade Canyon, featuring a stellar and sustained 5.9 fist crack, and a bold 5.8R runout slab pitch. On October 20th, 2022 Jordan Creech and I linked the two routes for one seven pitch day of excellent lowland climbing in the Tetons.
On August 10th, 2022 I reconnected with an old-friend to climb the classic Dihedral Of Horrors (5.9, II) on the Ship's Prow in Grand Teton National Park. Instead of spraying about a route with plenty of available beta, this article will serve as mostly a photo dump, to round out 10K2Far, plus a few route recommendations to aspiring climbers.
October 5th was Bobbi Clemmer's birthday, and to celebrate we repeated one of our favorite lowland multi-pitch climbs in Grand Teton National Park, the South Ridge of Baxter's Pinnacle. Bobbi earned her trad stripes on this classic 4-5 pitch route, leading all but the final 5.9 crux pitch. Having only climbed two years, the birthday girl has come quite some way.
The west crack of the "Ice Cream Cone" (USGS ~12,405) in Grand Teton National Park is the most popular route of ascent for southbound Grand Traverse parties. To my knowledge there is no existing topo for this route on the internet. This "post" is nothing more than a photo and route description for future parties. Bobbi Clemmer and I climbed this route as part of a longer traverse on August 21st, 2022.
Mount Owen's North Ridge is one of the longest, most aesthetic, yet equally demanding mountaineering routes in Grand Teton National Park, tucked away on the western flanks of the seldom traveled Owen-Teewinot Cirque. The route encompasses over 6,000 feet of elevation gain, half of which is considered "technical" - 4th class and above - and 13 or more roped pitches up to 5.9 - often rife with steep snow. A brutal approach involving dicy creek crossings, hours of dense bushwhacking and vast, obscure, occasionally loose, big mountain terrain solidify this full spectrum, undeniably classic, Teton alpine route - the first of it's class for my resume - an adventure I surely won't forget anytime soon.
