Rock Climbing – Ice Climbing – Ski Mountaineering
On Saturday April 13th I had the pleasure of skiing the classic East Face of The Jaw with Bobbi Clemmer, Bailey Haus and Carl Osterburg. That's right, Carl's back on the blog. Upon exiting we tagged the North Couloir of Symmetry Spire, a really neat, relatively tight and seldom skied hallway funneling into Hanging Canyon.
The Northeast Face of Mount Woodring is an unassuming, yet intricate and at times rather severe, 3,000 foot ski descent tucked away in the deep recesses of Leigh Canyon.
The Eagle Scout (a.k.a. Mack-Tyson) pillar is the premier single pitch ice climb of the Teton Range, with "more than 100 feet of vertical or overhanging climbing" and a grade ranging from WI5- to WI6R. Having not climbed the Eagle Scout in two years, I thought I would add some notes from the perspective of a better ice climber.
Over December and January I climbed and equipped two new or seldom visited routes in the South Fork of Teton Canyon that may be "Rusty's Smears", with three different partners.
On July 4th, 2024, Chase Krumholz and I completed the first ascent of Chilly Dogs (5.10-, III), a six pitch extension of Hot Dogs (5.9, I) on the south face of Storm Point. The route features nice selection of exciting and adventurous pitches in an accessible area, with a streamlined descent.
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.
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.
My sixth ski descent of, and third consecutive year ending my ski season on, the Grand Teton. This time I was accompanied by first time Grand Teton skier Connor Reithmayr, and we caught the Ford Couloir in nothing short of perfect corn.
On Friday May 31st I skied the North and South Faces of Mount Bannon in a pleasant eight hour yo-yo tour from Darby Canyon. The 1,000 foot North Face is a loose West Teton "classic" with some steeper than expected pitches and a free-ride feel.
On May 20th, 2024, I made the third descent of the "Buck Triple", linking the Bubble Fun, Newc and Northwest Couloirs for a near 8,000 foot day of tremendous steep skiing on the north face of Buck Mountain. From what I can gather this is the first time the Buck Triple has been completed solo, and the third descent in total.
Ten Thousand Too Far 