Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
On September 15th, 2024, Chris Morelli and I thrutched, wormed and grunted up the Snaz, an old-school, mega classic, ten pitch 5.10- on the commanding 1000 foot wall of Cathedral Buttress. I led all the crux pitches, and eight out of nine total pitches, which provided a far different challenge than swinging leads on the same climb two summers ago.
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 10th, 2024, Bobbi Clemmer, myself and my visiting-from-Florida sister Lauren climbed the classic Cube Point, a 9,800 foot tower on the East Ridge of Symmetry Spire, via an overnight camp in the lovely Hanging Canyon. The East Ridge of Cube is a popular Teton classic, offering five pitches of rock up to 5.5 in difficulty, covering some truly unique and stimulating terrain.
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 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.
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.
The Dike Route is a captivating 3000' alpine climb that ascends the east face of the 12,809' Middle Teton and it's eastern sub-peak, the 12,350' Dike Pinnacle, by way of a striking diabase dike gawked at by Garnet Canyon travelers far and wide. The "climb" is better classified as a full spectrum mountaineering adventure, with technical rock climbing up to 5.6, route finding difficulties, loose rock, several rappels, a runout traverse pitch, excessive third class scrambling, a long descent and mandatory steep snow crossings. On August 20th, 2022 I ticked the long desired beast with my girlfriend, Bobbi Clemmer, as her first grade IV - an epic one to say the least.
