The North Snowfield of Spalding Peak is yet another "steeper than it looks" and overlooked line in the South Fork of Garnet Canyon, complete with a unique summit, and on May 14th was the bearer of rarefied May powder. Skiing from just below 12,240 feet, this line could possibly be the mellowest descent from 12,000 feet in Grand Teton National Park.
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 July 24th, Liam Wylie and I climbed Open Book, a six pitch, 450 foot, grade III rock route on the southeast face of Grunt Arete, the first rock feature east of Disappointment Peak's SE Ridge, beginning in Garnet Canyon. Open Book is a Teton classic by all standards, with a stacked deck of unrelenting 5.8+ to 5.10- climbing above dramatic exposure. We finished the route in about eleven hours car to car, and had a tremendous time doing so.
According to the late great Steve Romeo, acclaimed Teton ski mountaineer and founder of TetonAT.com, "The Ellingwood Couloir on the Middle Teton is one of the most classic steep descents in the Teton Range", and if Romeo deems it a classic, I'll give it my humble blessing too. The Ellingwood is one of the very,... Continue Reading →
The Red Sentinel Couloir has become somewhat of a Teton "trade route" the past few seasons. Why has it taken me six winters to ski this iconic line? Probably the same reason I haven't skied the Apocalypse Couloir - WHO KNOWS! On March 12th, 2022 I finally tagged the beast, scoring 100% fresh tracks in... Continue Reading →
The Amor A' Vida Couloir is an ultra-classic Teton ski mountaineering objective on the south face of the South Teton. The full technical descent into Avalanche Canyon is nearly 3,000 feet - the first 900 on a vast and airy alpine face, and the latter 2,000 in a continuous, unique and especially aesthetic couloir.
June 11th was likely my last ski day of the 2021 season. Andrew Grasso and I teamed up for a traverse of Cloudveil Dome, the South Teton and a few couloirs/peaks in between - savoring the last scraps of winter.
On May 9th 2021, Carl Osterburg and I attempted to ski the Grand Teton. Faced with dangerous conditions, we decided to turn around. This decision could have saved our lives.
Ten Thousand Too Far 