Jim and I have been working on our bucket list climbs and hikes since we quit our jobs almost 5 years ago. The Grand Teton is the only peak outside of Washington State that Jim has had on his bucket list for most of his life.
A couple of years ago, I started emailing with Jackson Hole Mountain Guides regarding scheduling a climb then Covid happened and everything got put on hold. The good thing was this gave Jim and I a couple of years to really talk through what we wanted to do.
In the end, we decided we had the best chance for success if we hired a private guide. Someone with the sole purpose of getting us to the top of The Grand Teton. A single private guide can take up to three people so we asked our friend, George, to join us. He had already traveled to California with us to climb Mt Whitney so maybe he would be up for this. It took him about 5 minutes to reply to my email and another 10 minutes to pay the guide company. We were set. Now we just had to wait 9 months for our climb day to come.
On August 21st, we met our Jackson Hole Mountain Guide, Taylor, at the office in Jackson, Wyoming, for a gear check and a day of training. The training day is mostly for the guides to work with people who have limited to no climbing experience. In our case, it was about us learning what the guide expected us to do, him learning our abilities, and us getting on some rock. Jim and I hadn’t rock climbed since early June.
On the 22nd, we met Taylor at the Lupine Meadow Trailhead at 8:30am and started a leisurely hike up to base camp.
After an endless number of sweaty switchbacks, we came to Garnet Canyon.
We could now hike along and enjoy the scenery. Taylor was in no hurry to get us to high camp. There was really nothing to do there but sit around and wait. We took a couple extra long breaks in and near Garnet Meadows.
After our last break, an afternoon thunderstorm moved in. The rain drops got bigger and bigger then eventually turned into hail. The hail stung as it hit our skin. We could have stopped and put on rain jackets but it was so warm out and we all knew it was going to stop as quick as it started.
A few minutes before we reached high camp, the rain stopped, and the clouds went away leaving us with blue sky and a lovely evening at the Jackson Hole Mountain Guide’s high camp.
The high camp was set in a rocky basin a couple hundred feet above the moraine where the climbers without guides were camped. The guide’s tent was at the base and our sleeping tents were above. It was so nice not to have to set up and carry our own tents.
Just outside the guide’s tent was a nice level rocky platform which we all hung out at. There were 4 private groups. Two singles, a group of 6, and the 3 of us. Everyone was really friendly, and we enjoyed hanging out with the group.
After dinner, we all headed back to our tents. By 8 pm, everyone was tucked in and trying to sleep. The first group was scheduled to be up at 3am and gone by 4am. We were the last group scheduled to leave high camp. Our getup time was 3:30am and we were on the move by 4:45am. We had to first downclimb boulders which was slow, but it was fun to see the other climbers on the moraine below.
At the head of the moraine was a steep headwall. There was a fixed line installed to make this part of the climb easier. Each team took turns climbing the headwall. This would be the only queue we would wait in until we came to the rappel stations on the way down.
When we reached the upper saddle between the Middle and Grand Teton, we did a 90 degree turn and headed toward the Grand. The sun began to light up the sky leaving only Jupiter as a light in the sky.
When the sun crested the horizon, the Teton range shadow was on display over Alaska Basin.
A couple hours after leaving the high camp, the guides stopped us and we began to rope up. Things were about to get really fun!
After crossing the Wall Street gully which was pretty loose, we start hiking up the Wall Street slab. Our guide blew past 2 parties and jumped on the route. From this point on, we were climbing solid rock and waited for no one.
Taylor, our guide, has been climbing the Grand Teton for many years now. He knew the route and every rock on it. He free climbed the entire thing dragging our rope behind. We would be short roped behind Taylor and then when we came to the next pitch, Taylor would drop the rope and take off up the rock.
Jim and I would watch Taylor to see if we could get any tips on climbing the route or just enjoy the view.
When the rope went tant, we would call up to Taylor and he would put us on belay if we weren’t already and then up, we would go. Jim and I were only tied a few feet apart so taking pictures of each other climbing was next to impossible.
When we would catch up with Taylor, he would coil up the rope so we could scramble a little or just drop the rope coil again and head up the next pitch.
Taylor climbed with such grace and ease. He was so comfortable with this classic route. And clearly enjoyed what he was doing.
When we came to the finally pitch before the ridge run to the summit, Taylor declared that we were going to do the slab variation to stay in the sun. This turned out to be my favorite pitch. It was more difficult than everything else we had done plus it had the added bonus of going up the very exposed upper Exumm Ridge.
The upper section got very steep and slabby.
Jim and I took in the view from the summit ridge as Taylor put away most of the rope in his pack. From here to the summit, we would only have a couple of bouldering moves.
Even with the thunderheads building in the distance, we could still see the Teton Crest Traverse we had completed the week before. It was amazing to look down on the route and be able to identify the terrain. We felt at home in these mountains even though we had just seen them for the first time a little over a week ago.
As we scrambled along the ridge making the occasional bouldering move, I began to notice we were running out of rock. Taylor turned to me at one point and declared “there is the summit”. We were going to make it. Not that I had much doubt, but I was worried about the thunderheads forming in the distance.
When we reached the summit, Taylor checked the weather, and we were expecting rain in about 20 minutes. This would not be the summit break that Jim and I had hoped for but at least we were here and on our 14th wedding anniversary.
It was never in our plan to summit on our anniversary just a happy accident.
George was roped to an assistant guide. They arrived a few minutes after we did.
We took a few more pictures and then Taylor declared it was time to get ourselves off the summit before the rain came.
Taylor had Jim lead out following his instructions on where to go. We moved quickly down a scramble route skipping the upper rappel station. When we arrived at the lower rappel station, there was a queue. We all bundled up and waited our turn. Luckily, the thunderhead passed over but released no rain. It was saving it all for the Jackson Hole valley which got poured on.
It was interesting to watch the guides work at the rappel stations. They were so fast and efficient moving the ropes and gear around at a speed we couldn’t really comprehend. It was like watching a magician do the shell game.
Finally, it was our turn to rappel. Taylor set all three of us up on the rope and then slide down the rope. Taylor and I had talked about the rappel the day before, so I knew the bottom half was going to be free. We would rappel over an overhang.
When it was George’s turn to rappel, he came flying down the rope with a huge smile on his face. He was having so much fun. If he could have, he would have run around and done the rappel again.
After the rappel, we started the long gully descent back to the upper saddle.
We quickly caught the group in front of us. We had a huge advantage since Jim and I have descended our share of dirty gullies. Taylor decided to take a detour through a tunnel to give the group in front of us a little space. Who doesn’t enjoy a good tunnel in the rocks?
Once we cleared the gully, we took a long break. The sky had cleared and there was no reason to hurry back to camp. Just before the fixed line headwall, we took another break. Taylor really dialed into Jim and my climbing style.
When we got back to camp at 3pm, most of the climbers were in their tents. Everyone had successfully reached the summit via the Exumm route. The guides celebrated the group success while Jim and I headed up for an afternoon nap.
When I returned to the cooking tent after my nap, many climbers were relaxing and sharing stories of today’s adventures.
We spent the evening visiting with one of the guides. Twelve years, George had tried to climb Denali. The guide he climbed with was in our camp. The guide told stories about what he had been doing the last several years and how he ended up in Jackson Hole. The mountain guides life is fascinating. They are real nomads.
The next morning, we were once again the last group out of camp. This did allow us to have the camp to ourselves so we could take some group pictures.
On our way down to the trailhead, we met up with George’s wife, Karen. The four of us headed up a side trail to take a dip in an alpine lake while Talyor headed back to his van.
We stopped first at Suprise Lake for some lunch. We could see these lakes from our climbing route and the summit. We took some time to try and figure out where we had been the morning before.
After lunch, we continued up to Ampitheater Lake so the guys could take a swim. What a fabulous view of the summit of the Grand Teton!
After a nice long swim in the lake, we headed back down the trail then checked into the Alpine Clubs Climber’s Ranch. The ranch is inside the National Park. Very rustic but has hot showers and a bunk to sleep in. The four of us were able to have an entire cabin to ourselves.
In the morning, we ate breakfast under the covered area and made a new friend. She was probably 3 years old and broke her little finger jumping between the end table and couch at home. Good thing her parents were nearby or George might have taken her home.
We had some time to kill before our evening flight, so we decided to do the tourist thing and visit Mormon Row to check out the barns. We were never able to recreate the classic Ansel Adams photograph, but we did try.
Jim and I are already planning a trip back to the Tetons. We haven’t been to too many of our National Parks, but The Grand Tetons have quickly captured a place in our hearts.