On Thursday June 19th, 2025, I climbed Irene's Arete with new-to-the-Tetons desert coworker Kenzi Stemp, including a two pitch direct start which has surely been climbed before, but is undocumented and often skipped. Higher, we explored a few harder variations with pleasant rewards. This article will focus solely on the variations we climbed, and others I've climbed over the years, which add tremendous value to this already great route.
Ski Alpinism Vol. 1 – Irene’s Arete (5.8, III) to Spoon Couloir Ski Descent – Disappointment Peak – GTNP, WY (03.17.24)
On Sunday March 17th, 2024, Chase Krumholz and I played with some ski alpinism tactics - linking a climb of the famous Irene's Arete (5.8, III) with ski descent of the classic Spoon Couloir on Disappointment Peak. Rock climbing with skis - get weird!
Teton’s Finest? – Irene’s Arete (5.8, III) – Disappointment Peak – GTNP, WY (07.30.23)
Irene's Arete is widely stated as the finest rock climb in Grand Teton National Park. Many variations are possible, but we sought the path of least resistance and cleared the ridge at 5.8, with truly remarkable positioning on a golden, awe inspiring knife's edge arete. Yep, she's a classic - but, THE classic? Oh, and we hit some traffic too.