The Grand Teton Climb
Lupine Meadows trailhead
Bradley & Taggart Lakes
3 miles from Lupine Meadows- the 2nd fork in the trail.
The climbers' trail inside Garnet Canyon.
First Boulder Field by the Platforms Camping Zone.
Garnet Creek
Eight skiers were seen on Sunday. These three were headed for the Dike Couloir. The snow wasn't all that special but the Middle Teton Glacier might have had a nice line or two.
View toward Petzoldt's Caves Camping Zone.
Natural spring that feeds Spalding Falls by the picnic rock & Caves Camping Zone.
Snow crossing. The summer trail to the Lower Saddle might be all melted out by the 4th of July. This is just above the Caves Camping Zone.
The climbers' trail and view back toward the Caves / Spalding Falls area.
Camping Spot at the Morainal Camping Zone.
The Lower Saddle's headwall. One climber is glissading.
Climber tumbling down the Saddle's headwall.
Ditto
Getting checked out after the twist, tumble, roll & spin. Everyone was OK. There were some exposed rocks in the snow.
The Morainal Camping Zone. Middle Teton Glacier - right. The climbers' trail runs up the dry exposed rock. The snow was dimpled and not the least bit punchy which made walking over it annoying.
The bootpack up the Lower Saddle's Headwall.
We took the Bootpack up the headwall but on the way down we took the Fixed Rope. This is the view toward the Fixed Rope. The snow was still deep by the base of the Fixed Rope but very thin above it.
Ski tracks on the MTG.
Lower Saddle
None was at the huts on Sunday. Only 4 other climbers were climbing. One soloing and 3 in a group.
Use the gear hangers & bear boxes for storing food items, etc.
Dartmouth Basin
Red Rock Rib
Needle's Chockstone Chimney - far right
We climbed the rock on the north side of the Chockstone Chimney and then moved into the chimney
mid-way through it.
mid-way through it.
View toward the Briggs' Slab, the Central Rib's Bench, etc from the south side of the Chockstone Chimney. We zigzagged around the dry rock to avoid snow and climbed out by the Briggs' Slab.
Central Rib's Bench
Main Drainage. Some people were still bootpacking up the drainage. The Central Rib was a better option.
Lower Crossover - looking east toward Wall Street. We just stopped by to check out conditions.
View of the snow crossing from the Central Rib's Lower Crossover route. Conditions were a little better than last week.
Lower Crossover - looking back west
View of the snow crossing from the Central Rib's Upper Crossover route.
If, by chance, you wanted to access the Black Rock Chimney from the eastern side of the Central Rib, this is one variation by the Upper Crossover. This is not the easy way but the many many variations make every climb up the Grand a little different and interesting.
This is the normal access to the Black Rock Chimney on the western side of the Central Rib.
Wall Street as seen after exiting the top of the Black Rock Chimney.
Exit from the top of the Black Rock Chimney.
Central Rib - far left. Lower Saddle - background.
Upper Saddle - far right.
Upper Saddle
Mt Owen's summit is near the top-right.
The exposure below the Belly Roll which is about 1/5th of the way down from the top of the image.
Belly Roll -rock lodged in horizontal cleavage.
The Crawl
Ledge between Belly Roll & Crawl
Some nasty ice in the Double Chimney but manageable. We had crampons but didn't use them.
Exit from the Double Chimney - looking west.
Southeast variation to reach the Catwalk after leaving the DC.
Bottom of the Owen Chimney. This snow was slick.
Looking back at the exit from the DC from the Owen.
The Catwalk.
We took the Catwalk up the mountain but we took the Owen Chimney on the way down. The climber is at the Main Rap Overlook in the picture. He soloed the Upper Exum after biking over from Kelly, WY. He also carried a rope and used the rap. He could have saved some weight by skipping the rope and downclimbing to the Upper Saddle but we don't think he knew how easy that would be.
Sargent's Chimney
Climber using Sargent's Rap
Sargent's main chimney
Rap slings at the top of Sargent's
Top of Sargent's - background. Top of Hidden Exit - foreground.
Three Stooges. Stay north and follow a straight line (or whatever works for you) to the Slabby Wall & summit. Take the easiest path.
Slabby Wall. Climb center crack or switchback around to SE & NE. Center crack points toward the summit and back toward Sargent's.
Approach just below the summit.
Narrow ledge above the Slabby Wall's southern half.
Table Mtn
East Ridge
The lakes to the east of the summit.
Bradley & Taggart
The Hourglass
View south
Cascade Canyon
Jackson Lake, String Lake, Jenny Lake, Teewinot Mtn
Deta Lake
Surprise & Amphitheater Lakes
Two climbers atop the Middle Teton
Downclimb: Just below the summit
Downclimb: Sargent's Rap - we took the Hidden Exit.
Top of the Hidden Exit. Climb down the chute's NE corner - at right in photo.
Sargent's main chimney
Sargent's main chimney
Sargent's main chimney
Sargent's Chimney - stay left (north) to access the Hidden Exit.
Sargent's Chimney - seen from bottom on the way to the Owen Chimney
Ledge at bottom of Sargent's
Owen Chimney
Owen Chimney - a little icy in spots...
...but lots of dry holds.
Double Chimney. The tunnel was still plugged with snow & ice. We took the Open-'V'. The tunnel is easier for non-climbers, usually. Middle of the DC.
1st Entrance DC
Crawl
Belly Roll
Upper Saddle
Access to the Black Rock Chimney. All of the other climbers used the main drainage.
Afternoon view of Wall Street
Central Rib's Black Rock Chimney
Some flowers in the BRC
Central Rib and its bench. Lower Saddle in background.
View toward the Eye of the Needle.
View of the ice still in the drainage on the west side of the Central Rib's bench. This area had melted off last weekend.
View of the upper part of the Chockstone Chimney & view toward the Eye of the Needle.
View toward the variations around the Briggs' Slab.
The Needle & the Black Dike
View of the southern aspect of the Grand Teton from the Lower Saddle
Lower Saddle's water source. The garden hose just sits in the drainage to allow climbers to easily fill a hydration pack or water jug.
View from the Fixed Rope toward the Moraines.
Fixed Rope
Fixed Rope
Heading down the Meadows' headwall along the winter route. Climbers will probably want to stay on the summer trail.
Looking back up the slope at the small bowl above the Meadows' headwall. The Grand Teton's East Face is upper right.
Meadows' headwall melting out.
View toward the summer climbers' trail.
Furry friend.
View toward Spalding Falls, Caves, and the summer climbers' trail.
Skiers in the Cave Couloir.
Meadows' camping spot
Meadows' tents
Garnet Creek by the Meadows
Runoff
Garnet Creek
First Boulder Field
A few trip reports for April through October
July 17th, 2016 (UXM) PNG Variation
Detailed Look At Specific Route Features
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Enjoy Safe Climbing