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.
As the 2022/23 winter is slow to ramp up, and I'm still spending time digesting my Thanksgiving meal with family, I figured I would add this short bight from what was perhaps my first "real" Teton ski mountaineering descent - the famed Spoon Couloir on Disappointment Peak - circa 2018. Are you ready? (trip report... Continue Reading →
An updated and thorough topo of the Chouinard-Frost Chimney on the north face of Disappointment Peak in Grand Teton National Park.
A first for Ten Thousand Too Far, this is not a trip report - but a simple conditions report on the main ice climbs at the mouth of Death Canyon in Grand Teton National Park, after a futile ice trip on November 10th, 2022.
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.
Peaches is an adventurous four pitch, grade two, 5.8 rock climb established by Yvon Chouinard and Kathryn Collins in 1980, and has seen few repeats since. Though only graded 5.8, if twenty foot runouts above small brass nuts puts bees in your bonnet, this might not be the climb for you.
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.
On Sunday August 14th, 2022, Alex Wells joined my obscure vision to climb Almost Overhanging, an 850 foot, 7 pitch, seldom climbed route on Disappointment Peak's Almost Arete. What we found was a "logical" line seriously lacking in traffic though deserving of more, with sound rock where it counted and an exciting variety of climbing styles. If Almost Overhanging could gain some traction, I believe it would stand with Open Book as another high-quality short-approach Garnet Canyon moderate, and help distribute some congestion from other routes in the area.
Ten Thousand Too Far 