Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
On September 8th, 2024, Bobbi Clemmer and I climbed the classic Southeast "Buckingham" Ridge on the 12,809 foot Middle Teton via an overnight camp in the South Fork of Garnet Canyon. It was Bobbi's first time swinging leads on an alpine climb, at pretty darn high elevation no less.
On August 15th Drew Grasso and I scurried the Upper Exum Ridge (5.5, II) for his first, and my thirteenth, Grand Teton summit. This was my third time on the route, but only the second with a rope. On this day we aimed to find the perfect balance between minimalism and security for a roped ascent. Here lies an exceedingly nerdy article oriented towards climbers, detailing our light rack and specific techniques for moving through this notoriously long 1000' route with a short 30 meter rope.
On August 3rd I trotted into Garnet Canyon and soloed the should-be-classic Dike Route on the Dike Pinnacle. While the climbing itself was excellent, the direct descent into Garnet Canyon from the summit of the Dike Pinnacle nearly killed me... metaphorically... of course.
I've been battling a partial rotator cuff tear this summer, so I've been dipping my toes into the dark arts of rope-less climbing as a way to score significant mileage on easy terrain. The Chouinard Ridge provides a 1,600' vertical adventure on clean-as-a-whistle Middle Teton granite.
On Saturday July 13th Bobbi Clemmer and I attempted a Cloudveil Traverse, a classic seven peak link up following the skyline ridge connecting the South Teton to Nez Perce. Due to a few unexpected steep snow crossings and a critical route finding mistake by your's truly we were forced to retreat 150 feet from the summit of the final peak.
I finally got around to making a modern topo for the excellent multi-pitch rock climbs on the Southwest Face of Teton Canyon's Grand Wall. As of July 2024 there are four routes on the Southwest Face, all with their own flare. Wild Kingdom (5.7) is likely the most popular, offering enjoyable climbing and good protection... Continue Reading →
On Sunday July 7th Bobbi Clemmer and I climbed the uber-classic Dihedral of Horrors including the seldom climbed first pitch 5.10 variation. Because DOH has been documented on 10K2Far before, this article serves mostly to touch on the underrated 5.10 variation that more folks should climb.
I was pretty psyched to flash Blobular Oscillations, a renowned runout 5.10- variation to the first pitch of Guide's Wall, and thought it a good excuse to talk about our whole day. Guide's Wall has never been covered on 10K2Far because it's one of the few super well documented multi-pitch outings in GTNP, but maybe I can add a tidbit or two to the collective knowledge.
On Sunday June 23rd Justin Gilbert and I clawed up the equally remarkable and unexpectedly difficult 1961 South Buttress route on the 1400 foot East Face of Table Mountain. 10 pitches, 15 hours, 15 miles and 5000 vertical feet later we were slightly busted, but far more stoked.
On May 16th I spontaneously skied the relatively unknown Southwest Couloir on Mount Woodring after bailing from a different objective. What I found was top quality moderate ski mountaineering adventure on par with the Banana Couloir, Static Peak and Rockchuck Peak. Here's a quick trip report.
Ten Thousand Too Far 