The Alpine Peanut has become an ice climber, so we headed to arguably Grand Teton National Park's most classic winter ice route - Prospector Falls. We worked our way up the main flow at solid WI4.
2024 GTNP Send Off – Reticent Wall (5.8, III) and Baxter’s Pinnacle (5.9, II) – GTNP, WY (10.26 & 10.27, 2024)
On October 26th and 27th, 2024, Bobbi Clemmer and I did a Saturday/Sunday double dip in Grand Teton National Park, climbing the Reticent Wall (5.8, III) on Saturday and joining Lainey Fellows and Will Dietz for a classic Baxter's Pinnacle lap on Sunday. It's been another wonderful, intense and memorable alpine climbing season in Grand... Continue Reading →
Ship’s Prow Triple – Cardiac Aretes, Annals Of Time and Dihedral Of Horrors in a Day (5.9, IV) – Grand Teton Nat. Park, WY (10.17.24)
On October 17th Lainey Fellows and I linked Cardiac Aretes, Annals Of Time and Dihedral Of Horrors for an absolutely classic day on three of Death Canyon's finest 5.9 routes - The Ship's Prow Triple.
A Paradigm Shift at the Elephant’s Perch – Astro Elephant (5.10, IV) and Super Slab (5.9, II) – Sawtooth Range, ID (10.10 & 10.11, 2024)
A manic two day strike to "Idaho's El Capitan" with Jed Porter. Astro Elephant was astronomical - Jed called it Steck-Salathe and Epinephrine caliber - I've never climbed anything quite like it. On the way we climbed an excellent unnamed 7 pitch 5.9 slab on the Super Slab. The Elephant's Perch is a monolithic 1,000... Continue Reading →
Birthday Scrambles – Bell Mountain NW Face (4.0) and White Mountain SW Ridge (3.0) – Lemhi & Salmon River Ranges, ID (Oct. 4-6, 2024)
We've been climbing in the Tetons all summer - it was time to head west. Bell Mountain's Northwest Face stole the show as an excellent sustained fourth class scramble on a remote and gigantic Idaho Peak, and White Mountain brought a long enduro ridge traverse to the tallest peak in the Salmon River Range.
Chasing Beyer – Vas Defrens (5.9+ R, IV) – Cathedral Rock – Grand Teton National Park, WY (09.21.24)
On Saturday September 21st, 2024, Greg Gwinn and I attempted to repeat the long forgotten Vas Defrens on Cathedral Rock, a 1000 foot "5.9 R" established by the legendary Jim Beyer and Buck Tilly in 1978.
Progress – Revisiting The Snaz (5.10-, IV) – Cathedral Rock – Grand Teton Nat. Park, WY (09.15.24)
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.
Dipping My Toes – Chouinard Ridge Free Solo (5.5, II) – Middle Teton – GTNP, WY (07.21.24)
I've been battling a partial rotator cuff tear this summer, so I've been dipping my toes into the dark arts of rope-less climbing as a way to score significant mileage on easy terrain. The Chouinard Ridge provides a 1,600' vertical adventure on clean-as-a-whistle Middle Teton granite.
Grand Wall Topo and Southwest Face Routes – Teton Canyon, Wyoming (July 2024)
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 →
Revisiting Dihedral Of Horrors (5.9, II), and the 5.10 First Pitch Variation – Ship’s Prow – GTNP, WY (07.07.24)
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.