The Grand Tetons are a magnet for mountaineers from
all over the world. The jagged snow-crusted peaks epitomize the ruggedness
of the West, All the elements of alpine climbing, rock, ice, snow, and
altitude, are represented in the Tetons. Glaciers, striking arêtes,
fist-size cracks, steep rocky ridges and ice couloirs abound providing
climbers a true alpine experience. This variety makes them especially
appealing to experienced mountaineers who use the Tetons to apply their
technical rock climbing skills in alpine settings and to train for Alaskan
or Himalayan expeditions.
At first glance the Tetons are daunting to novice, the
massifs known as Grand Teton, Middle Teton, South Teton, Moran and Teewinot
are surprisingly accessible once you’ve mastered a few essential moves, learn how to read rock, how to knot a rope, how to belay a companion, and to leverage your arm and leg muscles and you’ll
be capable of climbing the Tetons.
Ascents of Grand Teton typically involve two days. The first day climbers leave
Lupine Meadows Trailhead by 10 a.m., and hike up hike up Garnet Canyon trail,
the main approach to the Grand. Along the way you are treated to views of stunning
alpine terrain. To the north, periodic clearings of the conifer forest reveal
Mt.Teewinot, Middle Teton and the Grand, that appear as distinct razor edges
and chiseled stone. Your arrive at the Lower Saddle between the Grand and Middle
Teton by late afternoon where you camp for the night. After a night spent at
the 11,650-foot saddle you push on in the early morning darkness for the summit.
The main approach to the summit is the Owen-Spaulding route, graded 5.4, a
relatively easy technical climb even for the novice.
The accessibility and comparatively modest heights of the Tetons lead some to underestimate their dangers. Altitude sickness, avalanche and wildlife, all pose hazards, lightning is a serious threat and it can snow any month of the year and does.
Mountain guides are available for hire, two well-regarded companies offer a variety of classes and private mountain guide services depending on skill level and experience: Jackson Hole Mountain Guides (www.jhmg.com; 800-239-7642) and Exum Mountain Guides (www.exumguides.com; 307-733-2297). offer classes and guided trips throughout the year to introduce climbers of all skills and ages to the Tetons.
There are many worthy peaks in the range offering a spectrum
of climbing opportunities, Guide's Wall on Storm Point, is a moderate climb
(5.7 to 5.9) on quality, or solid, golden rock is one of the more popular
one-day routes in the range. Other interesting day climbs include Baxter's
Pinnacle, the southwest ridge of Symmetry Spire and the of Mount Owen’s steep
couloirs.
Local Guide Books
Teton Skiing: A History and Guide
to the Teton Range, Wyoming by Thomas Turiano
Teton Skiing is a phenomenal book written eloquently
and comically from the perspective of a mountaineer (Tom Turiano) who
has climbed and skiied nearly every peak in the range. The book is perfect
for someone thinking about a trip to the Tetons in order to gain more
insight into the history that made it the touring site it is today,
as well as, a guide to help in planning your trip. It is also a great
book for anyone interested in history and/or the outdoors in general.
Although it is partly a guidebook, it was more intersting to me for
its well researched and colorful history of this mythical wonder called
the Tetons. If you haven't been to Wyoming's Tetons, this book will
make you want to go. If you have been, it will drive you to return and
discover things unseen. A book I treasure!
Was
Climbing in the Wind River Range
A mountaineer's introduction to the Wind River Range is usually a trip to climb the Cirque of Towers or a peak-bagging attempt of Gannett or Fremont. One trip to these common areas usually leads to a second and third trips to the Winds. This is because it takes one trip to realize the general quality of climbing in the range as a whole and to fully ascertain the vastness of the multitude of cirques, basins and valleys. While Gannett and "the Cirque" are certainly worthy goals, the rest of the Wind Rivers is equally spectacular and nearly empty of mountaineers. There are entire valleys that see only a few parties per year.In the Northern part of the Wind River Range, the glaciers and high peaks and 27 of Wyoming's 32 thirteeners are in this section. Crowned by Wyoming’s tallest, Gannett and Fremont Peaks. Plan two-day approaches to these alpine, ice, rock and scrambling routes.
High
points: New book gives history, geology, routes of Greater Yellowstone
peaks By BRETT FRENCH
A climb to the top of Montana's highest mountain - 12,807-foot
Granite Peak - provided lofty inspiration for Thomas Turiano.
When Turiano climbed Granite in 1997, he was growing bored with
the Teton Mountains he knew so well, high country he has explored
while working for Exum Mountain Guides in Jackson Hole, Wyo. "
Then I went to climb Granite Peak and saw this whole other universe
of mountains," he said. "It was a rebirth of interest
for me in peak bagging."
Mountaineering & XC-Ski Stores
Skinny
Skis • (Jackson
Hole) Finding the right gear and
clothing for cross country skiing begins with a visit
to Skinny Skis.
Since
1974 Skinny Skis has been Jackson Hole's leading shop. In
addition to featuring the finest line-up of cross country
ski equipment,
Skinny Skis carries summer and winter outdoor gear and clothing
from many of the world's leading manufacturers: Patagonia,
Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, Arcteryx, Salomon, Cloudveil,
Rossignol, Fischer and Black Diamond, to name but a few.
Teton
Mountaineering • (Jackson Hole)
Teton Mountaineering is
the oldest outdoor specialty shop in the United States. This year
we are celebrating our twenty-ninth anniversary,
and actually, our business dates back even farther, having originated
as the "Outhaus" in the nineteen-fifties. Our commitment
to both excellence in retailing and to our unique mountain heritage
remains strong.
Yöstmark
Mountain Equipment • (Teton
Valley) Yöstmark
Mountain Equipment is a backcountry skiing and outdoor
equipment shop located in Driggs, Idaho. We are avid outdoors
men and women who are out "testing" the equipment whenever
we can and we'll be happy to share with you how it works for us.
Mountaineering & Ski Guides
Rendezvous
Ski and Snowboard Tours • (Teton Valley) Established in
1986, Rendezvous Ski and Snowboard Tours operates three backcountry
ski yurts high on the western slope of the Tetons near Jackson Hole
and Grand Targhee Ski Resort. Our huts provide access to the Jedediah
Smith Wilderness Area and Grand Teton National Park, where over
500 inches of legendary light, dry powder snow falls each winter.
A variety of terrain from high mountain ridges and broad, low-angled
powder bowls, to the steep and deep combine to make some of the
best backcountry ski terrain in the lower 48.
Exum
Mountain Guides • (Jackson Hole) Exum offers group and
private avalanche training, alpine and nordic ski tours, and ski
and snowboard descents of the remarkable mountains of the Teton
area. You will gain basic avalanche awareness, improve your skiing
and snowboarding technique, and practice the use of avalanche rescue
transceivers. Technical skills, such as steep skiing, rock and ice
climbing, and rappelling are practiced during ski and snowboard
mountaineering trips.
Yellowstone
Expedetion • (Yellowstone) Let us show you the finest
way to experience a true Yellowstone winter, at a cross-country
skier's pace from the Yellowstone Yurt Camp. Join our certified
backcountry ski guides to explore the Yellowstone backcountry. Our
multiday cross-country skiing excursions are based from the comfortable
Canyon Skier's "Yurt Camp" located only one half mile
from the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Mountaineering Destinations
St. Elias Alpine
Guides • Explore Alaska's
largest national park with the local experts, based in Wrangell-St.
Elias
since 1978. Half and
full-day glacier hikes, ice-climbing, trekking, backpacking, rafting,
skiing and mountaineering courses & expeditions. Our professional,
personable guides love to share their in-depth knowledge of this
magnificent wilderness!
Copper Oar • Copper Oar offers wilderness rafting
and multi-sport adventures in Alaska’s largest national park,
Wrangell-St. Elias, and throughout the state. Their adventures are
1-15 days in
length and suitable for everyone from children and novice adventurers
to veteran river travelers looking for the next great journey. Copper
Oar specializes in professional, personable guides, an in-depth knowledge
of the local human and natural history, great food, and creating
adventures of a lifetime!
Mountaineering Products
Life-Link • (Jackson
Hole)
When you live in Jackson Hole as we do you have the Tetons
as your
backyard. Our backyard provides some of the best
skiing and boarding on the planet. This is where the inspiration
for many of our products comes from. These ideas don’t
just come from us they come from our pro staff, our friends,
local
guides, patrollers and even folks who are just passing through
but have a passion for the backcountry and want the very
best equipment they can find.
R.U.
Outside -
(Teton Valley) Outdoor
clothing and gear for snowmobiling, skiing, horseback riding,
atv riding, hiking and water sports, including
neoprene supports,
EC2 boxer briefs, merino wool socks, winter boots, gloves, shorts,
altimeter watches, hydration packs, fleecewear and raingear.
Articles
10 Essentials for Multi-Day Backpacking By
Kevin Jackson • I have been involved in several backpacking
trips all over the world and the one constant is the importance of adequate
gear
for the environment — regardless
if we are leading a group through the Wind River Range in Wyoming or
hiking the Overland Track in Tasmania, Australia..........................................For
example, I recently led a five-day adventure through the Maroon Bells,
and Snowmass Wilderness outside Aspen, Colorado, and we experienced
conditions that were both unexpected and hazardous.
It was our essential gear that enabled us to enjoy the trip and cope
with the freezing weather and heavy snowfall. ..............................As
a rule of thumb, you want to pack lightly and take only what you need.
However,
when
confronted
with a difficult situation there are
certain items that should always be carried on any multi-day backpacking
trip. Here is my list of the 10 essentials. (Of course, if you take
regular backpacking trips, you should make your own list and share it
with the rest of your party. A little planning means less worries and
a better overall experience for everyone.)----------------> More
The Grand Tetons are a magnet for mountaineers from
all over the world. The jagged snow-crusted peaks epitomize the ruggedness
of the West, All the elements of alpine climbing, rock, ice, snow, and
altitude, are represented in the Tetons. Glaciers, striking arêtes,
fist-size cracks, steep rocky ridges and ice couloirs abound providing
climbers a true alpine experience. This variety makes them especially
appealing to experienced mountaineers who use the Tetons to apply their
technical rock climbing skills in alpine settings and to train for Alaskan
or Himalayan expeditions. 
Ascents of Grand Teton typically involve two days. The first day climbers leave
Lupine Meadows Trailhead by 10 a.m., and hike up hike up Garnet Canyon trail,
the main approach to the Grand. Along the way you are treated to views of stunning
alpine terrain. To the north, periodic clearings of the conifer forest reveal
Mt.Teewinot, Middle Teton and the Grand, that appear as distinct razor edges
and chiseled stone. Your arrive at the Lower Saddle between the Grand and Middle
Teton by late afternoon where you camp for the night. After a night spent at
the 11,650-foot saddle you push on in the early morning darkness for the summit.
The main approach to the summit is the Owen-Spaulding route, graded 5.4, a
relatively easy technical climb even for the novice.
There are many worthy peaks in the range offering a spectrum
of climbing opportunities, Guide's Wall on Storm Point, is a moderate climb
(5.7 to 5.9) on quality, or solid, golden rock is one of the more popular
one-day routes in the range. Other interesting day climbs include Baxter's
Pinnacle, the southwest ridge of Symmetry Spire and the of Mount Owen’s steep
couloirs. 
Rendezvous
Ski and Snowboard Tours
St. Elias Alpine
Guides
By
Kevin Jackson • I have been involved in several backpacking
trips all over the world and the one constant is the importance of adequate
gear
for the environment — regardless
if we are leading a group through the Wind River Range in Wyoming or
hiking the Overland Track in Tasmania, Australia..........................................For
example, I recently led a five-day adventure through the Maroon Bells,
and Snowmass Wilderness outside Aspen, Colorado, and we experienced
conditions that were both unexpected and hazardous.
It was our essential gear that enabled us to enjoy the trip and cope
with the freezing weather and heavy snowfall. ..............................As
a rule of thumb, you want to pack lightly and take only what you need.
However,
when
confronted
with a difficult situation there are
certain items that should always be carried on any multi-day backpacking
trip. Here is my list of the 10 essentials. (Of course, if you take
regular backpacking trips, you should make your own list and share it
with the rest of your party. A little planning means less worries and
a better overall experience for everyone.)---------------->