 |
| Mounting the snow horse |
Before long we were in one of my favorite places, the
Tetons! Janelle and I have traveled here at least once per year since we meet 6
years ago. The Upper Exum Ridge was one of my first alpine climbing experiences.
We honeymooned in Jackson. Janelle became the US National Ski Mountaineering
champion at Jackson Hole ski resort. Needless to say, I have many fond memories
from being in these mountains.
I first heard about the “Grand Traverse” during one of my
early visits. This Traverse links
all 7 major mountains in the range (with a handful of smaller peaks in-between). I hoped that one day I would be strong
enough to tackle such an endeavor, and on August 24th that day came.
Last year we climbed the North Face of the Grand, and the
only classic climb remaining was the North Ridge on the Grand. The glacier to
get to the route can be broken and nasty this late in the season, so we
concluded doing the Traverse would be the best/most fun way to approach the
ridge.
Having climbed in the area my fair share, I knew that route-finding
was going to be a crux of the experience. There is a lot of terrain to cover
during the Traverse, and getting off-route would simply burn precious daylight.
We collected quality beta from pataclimb.com, some Exum guide friends, and
other friends that had done it before. The best tip was to take only one 70-meter
twin rope, which helps with the long rappels. We took our Sterling Ice Thong 7.7mm rope....super thin!
The other major crux is getting your pack as light as
possible. We simply wanted to climb fast with a light backpack. So we bribed
our friend, Rob, into porter-ing our sleeping bags, pads, and extra food to the
Lower Saddle campground on the South side of the Grand Teton. He was cheap, so
it worked out well. =)
 |
| Porter Rob |
The plan was to climb the “Cathedral Traverse” (Teewinot,
Owen, the Grand) day one, sleep at the Lower Saddle, then finish the Grand
Traverse on day two. We left the parking lot at 4:00AM with happy (light) packs, amped
and moving fast. There were several forest fires in the area, and the air was thick
with smoke, which made breathing a little difficult. Halfway up Teewinot we got
above the smoke layer just as the sun was rising. It was amazing.
Reaching the top of Teewinot in a few short hours we were
rewarded with the most spectacular view of the Grand Teton’s North Face.
From there the terrain is fairly easy 2nd-4th class until the first rappels. At this point another “traverser” caught up with
us. He was doing it solo. I offered him our ropes to rappel, instead of using
his own. From there we moved together to the top of Owen, crossing mostly
broken rock, some quality rock climbing, and a little snow.
Some say the crux of the route finding is getting from the
summit of Teewinot to the Gunsight Notch.
Last year, Janelle and I climbed the Serendipity Crack on Owen, so we
had seen this terrain. That experience helped keep us moving quickly. From the
Gunsight Notch up to the Grand Stand is the highest quality climbing on the
North Ridge, in my opinion.
Once we got to the North Ridge proper there are two main
ways to go. The Italian Cracks or the Chockstone Chimney. The Chockstone
Chimney is the route listed in “the book” so we went that way. There was a
small section of ice to chop through, but compared to Mt Hunter it was
cakewalk. The climbing in the chimney was really good too. We decided to pass on taking rock
climbing shoes, so pulling the 5.8 crux in my guide tennie approach shoes
helped keep it real.
From the top of the chimney the climbing is straightforward.
All paths lead to the top. On top, we hung out for a while, soaking in yet
another Grand Teton experience. This route was way more enjoyable than the
North Face, which doesn’t take much since the N. Face is a big pile of crap!
We arrived at the Lower Saddle campsite around 5:00PM. Rob had
delivered the goods, and we were eating dinner that he carried up for us
shortly thereafter. We wanted to be as nice as possible to him, so we did not
have him bring up a tent. Well, that backfired on us. At 6:00AM the next
morning we awoke quickly to rain drops hitting our sleeping bags, then hail! We
threw all our stuff together and ran for shelter.
There were thunderclouds to the West, approaching fast. Our
plan to complete the Grand Traverse we getting washed out. Janelle and I looked
at each other, wondering what the other person was thinking. Should we keep
going? Should we bail? Just then a big flash of lightening in the distance
sealed Plan A’s fate. We reluctantly decided walk down and get breakfast in
town.
I hate bailing on my plans in the mountains, especially when
the ski clears halfway down to the car! I couldn’t believe it. At 6:00AM it
looked like Zeus was having lightning bolt target practice with the Tetons, and
then at 7:00AM it was bluebird. I was pissed to make the wrong decision to
bail. Regardless, we kept walking downhill, back to the van. At 8:00AM dark
clouds rolled back in and unleashed a rainstorm full of lighting. Standing
under a big pine tree, out of the rain, I was smiling ear to ear. We had made
the right decision. Amusing isn’t it, how the same decision can be good one
moment, bad the next, and then good again.
The Cathedral Traverse is by far the most fun I’ve had in
the Tetons, and I recommend it to anyone interested.
