Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
The Black Hole Couloir is a 2,500 foot snake-like, and quite narrow, couloir on the north aspect of Eagles Rest Peak in Waterfalls Canyon. A long approach is rewarded with a truly unique Teton descent. Bonus recon shots of Darkness Falls.
On March 25th Liam Wylie and I connected for a quick lap in the Lake Louise Ice Gully - my second time climbing this classic and aesthetic four-pitch moderate outside Dubois, WY. Spoiler alert, Liam racked up his first lead!
The Overlooked Couloir is the lower NW Couloir on Nez Perce, topping out a few hundred feet above the East/West Hourglass's and sporting a sustained 50 degree slope for over 400 feet, above a cliff with a low crux - no falls accepted - an interesting consolation prize, and first personal descent, in the South Fork of Garnet Canyon.
On Saturday I enjoyed a Garnet Canyon/Glacial Gulch link-up, skiing the Dike Snowfield to Teton Glacier, climbing to the Tallboy Col and eventually skiing the rarely descended SE face of Peak 11,751 (East summit of the East Prong). Both descents were personal firsts, a great day in the hills.
The West Hourglass Couloir begins at 11,400 feet on the West Ridge of Nez Perce, averaging about 1,000 feet of 40 degree fall-line couloir skiing with a 50 degree crux, and an even longer runout. In full, the line is quite simply 2,200 feet of Teton bliss, an absolute classic Teton powder descent. The striking... Continue Reading →
Fully visible from South Fork Road, Ovisight is a three pitch WI6 climb of grand proportions, dominating the upper reaches of the Legg Creek drainage with a triad of impressive free-standing pillars, all WI5 or harder.
The Moratorium (WI4) is the longest continuous waterfall ice climb (~100M, 300 feet) in the South Fork of the Shoshone River. High On Boulder is a three-pitch true classic at the WI4 grade, and when connected with the Pillar Of Pain, forms a five pitch alpine style route with two additional pitches up to WI5/6.
The Eagle Scout Pillar, a.k.a. Mack-Tyson Pillar, is perhaps the gem of steep waterfall ice in the Teton Range. Tucked into the deep recedes of Teton Canyon, "the pillar" provides a consistent 35M of vertical or overhanging climbing ranging anywhere from WI5- to WI6R. On a fine snowy Sunday, Jorge Hedreen and I both led... Continue Reading →
Golden Tears (tiers?) may the "most classic" waterfall ice climb in the greater Jackson Hole area, with 500 feet of terraced WI4/WI4+ climbing above Lake Louise and the sleepy town of Dubois, Wyoming. Finding the beast in suitable attire can be finicky business, as some years the lower pitches don't form at all, but on Thursday February 2nd, 2023, Jorge Hedreen and I scored big in full ice conditions.
The hanging WI5-6 dagger of "Mummy Four" stands as the single most impressive ice formation on the east side of Hyalite Canyon besides the ever famous Winter Dance. To reach it, Chris Hackbarth and I climbed the Scepter (WI5) and "Mummy Three" (M6, WI3) in what turned out to be an excellent grade three kind-of day in Hyalite Canyon - an alpine style climb in the land known for short approach ice cragging.
Ten Thousand Too Far 