On Saturday November 19th, 2022, Eric Boomer and I made the arduous five mile pillage into Death Canyon for one of Grand Teton National Park's finest early season ice climbs. The main flow was well formed and climbed at WI4-.
Coffee Cake and Quartz Crystals on the Taminah Arete (5.9, III) – Matternought Peak, Grand Teton N.P. (08.07.22)
The Taminah Arete (5.9, III) ascends the prominent aesthetic south ridge of Matternought Peak, an 11,360 foot southern spur of the larger Gilkey Tower. On Sunday August 7th, 2022, Liam Wylie and I completed the climb in 19 hours car-to-car - one of our finest Teton adventures, though perhaps a tent would have served us well.
Straight Bananas! – Banana Couloir – Prospectors Mountain – Grand Teton Nat. Park, WY (03.25.22)
The "Banana Couloir" is more of a massive gully than a true couloir, providing 3,300 feet of moderate fall-line skiing on the most commanding east face of the southern Tetons. Beginning at roughly 11,000 feet, "the Banana" maintains an average slope angle above 30 degrees for over one whole skiable mile (take a second to... Continue Reading →
Awakening the Sleeping Dragon – A Remote Triggered Deep Slab Avalanche in the Tetons (12.27.21)
On December 27th 2021, I remotely triggered an avalanche of serious destructive magnitude while traversing a north-to-south ridgeline, at approximately 9,600 feet in the west Teton backcountry, on skis. The deep persistent slab avalanche broke with a 6-10 foot crown, ran 1,400 feet, uprooted many trees and failed on the "December 5th weak layer". Read... Continue Reading →
Prospector Falls (IV, WI4) – Grand Teton N.P. – First Ice of the Year! (12.2021)
Prospector Falls, also known as "Raven" or "Raven Crack" Falls, is about as classic as they come for ice climbs in Grand Teton National Park. The striking 200 foot main cascade is visible from the easily reached Phelps Lake Overlook, a favorite sight with early winter tourists. The whole route is four pitches, about 400-500... Continue Reading →
Fossil Mountain & The Ice Cave Couloir – Waist Deep November Pow & The State of the Teton Snowpack (Nov. 2021)
Fossil Mountain is a remote 10,921 foot peak located deep in the central Teton Range. The Ice Cave Couloir is a short, steep and seldom skied couloir that will only be relevant to enthusiasts of the obscure. While hardly worthy of its' own mission, the "Ice Cave" made a great addition to Carl Osterburg and... Continue Reading →
Ropeless on the Grand Teton – An Owen-Spalding Free Solo – Grand Teton N.P. (Sept. 2018)
In September of 2018, I completed my first climb and free-solo of the Grand Teton via the Owen-Spalding Route. Here's the story of what at the time was my most monumental and perspective shifting experience in these great mountains.
A South Garnet Ski Traverse… In June – Cloudveil Dome, S. Teton, Peak 12,295, Cave Couloir – Grand Teton N.P. (06.2021)
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.
Mount Owen – A Winter Summit and Ski Descent – Koven Route (5.3), East Face and Diagonal Couloir – Grand Teton N.P. (03.02.21)
On March 5th 2021, Sam Johnson and I had one of our wildest ski mountaineering experiences on Mount Owen, the second tallest peak of the Teton Range, which sees very few winter ascents.
From a Local’s Perspective – A Grand Teton National Park Rescue
My experience as a responding party in a Grand Teton N.P. Search and Rescue operation