storm had just moved thru the night before, left heavy winds for us to climb in. made it a little dodgy. nevertheless, had a great climb. one of the most stunning ranges i've seen.
Route Climbed: East Ridge Date Climbed: 7 Aug 1970
Khalden Sherpa and I climbed this route in perfect weather. We got off route, as many do, and didn't reach the summit til 6 PM. We descended the Owen Spaulding route and walked down the mountain until it became too dark to go any farther. We bivied and hiked back over the ridge to our campsite the next morning.
Route Climbed: owen-spalding w/ wittich crack variation Date Climbed: aug '97
Is this not just a beaut of a rock? The view is amazing. Make sure to check out the Black Tail Butte directly east accross the valley. It is supprisingly some great climbing with no approach at all. Just roll out of your tent at GrosVentre and cruise to the parking lot and climb. Can't wait to go back. See you in Moose.
Nyle Walton - Nov 6, 2003 10:28 am Date Climbed: Jul 20, 1950
Route Climbed: Owens-Spaulding Date Climbed: July, 1950
Midway through the 20th Century on a summer trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I gazed upon the awesome Grand Teton for the first time. At its base near Jenny Lake, I met mountain-guide Glenn Exum and his attractive blond wife. Exum's appearance was a cross between the movie actors, Errol Flynn and Gilbert Roland, the latter whom I had just seen in a class-B movie entitled "High Conquest" where the Cisco Kid played a Swiss guide somewhat reluctant to undertake a death-defying climb of the Matterhorn. The prospect of reliving this movie inspired me to borrow thirty dollars from my father to pay Exum to guide me up the "Matterhorn of the Rockies."
I was disappointed when my guide turned out to be not the handsome Exum but rather a younger member of his staff, Bob Merriam. Bob led his wife, Doris, Ronald Davis, and me up along switchbacks that led through the forest and up a glacial ravine to the 12,000-foot saddle between the Grand and Middle Tetons. There we camped for the night before ascending steeply to a higher saddle where we roped up and traversed horizontally along a narrow exposed ledge called the "Cooning Place" (as I recall). A few more terrifying pitches subsequently put us on the slabby summit of the Grand Teton.
The weather was good and we could see every peak from Mount Moran and Jackson Lake on the north to South Teton and Jackson town to the south. Bob and his wife sat on a ledge below the summit. I was able to catch them from above through my viewfinder with their legs dangling over the abyss and Jenny Lake 7,000 feet below their feet for a very vertiginous photograph. A kodachrome of sixteen-year-old me sitting on the summit appears in my profile.
This was my first experience with technical climbing. Subsequently that same year (1950) I wrote an account of the climb that covered a newspaper-size page in the Salt Lake Tribune Sunday Magazine Section entitled "Feet on the Teton." A photograph of our guide and his wife taken from the summit looks down on their boots suspended above Jenny Lake is one of five pictures that appeared with the full-page article. The yellowed newspaper sheet remains folded among my most precious momentos.
Route Climbed: Owen Spalding (sort of) Date Climbed: 12 Aug 2003
I'm not sure why I let my little Brother talk me into leaving the tent at 4:30am.. We ended up climbing to the top in the dark.. Since we had not been their before,,, we left the Owen Spalding route before the belly crawl and ended up with a direct ascent.. All in all,, it was great.. We sat up on top and watched the sun come up.. warmed up in the sun for about an hour,,, We didn't see the next climber until we were on our way back down..
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Date Climbed: August 2, 2003
My third summit of the Grand, first by Owen-Spalding, second by Direct Exum, and this, my first time crossing the Wall Street gap. The route was more memorable this time around, with my wife. 3.5 hours from the Lower Saddle, and we jumped every group of guides we encountered. My first pleasant experience with the guides in the Tetons. All were happy on the summit.
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Ridge Date Climbed: August 7, 2003
Fun climb to a great summit. The Golden Staircase was the best climbing on the route. I didn't even know I was on the Friction Pitch until it was over. Simul-climbed with my wife and found the ridge to be shorter and easier than expected. Mostly 4th and very low 5th class climbing.
Passed 5 Exum guided groups as the ridge was wide and hosted many variations.
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Ridge Date Climbed: July 2002
Wow, what an awesome climb! This was my first technichal climb of a mountain and it was a great experience. We had great weather and had a clear view at the top (only blemish was the hazy smoke from all of the fires in the midwest at the time). Wall Street, Friction Pitch, and the Golden Staircase were all fun. We descended down the Owen-Spalding and completed the long rap. The hikes up and down were enjoyable too.
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Ridge Date Climbed: August 2, 2003
Climbed with big wall speed climber Miles Smart to the summit in about 6.5 hrs from Lupine Meadows. We made very good time to the Lower Saddle, had a quick break, and took only about 1 hr on the route itself (from Wall Street ledge). The climbing was fantastic - beautiful rock, interesting moves, and great views and exposure. The Golden Staircase and Friction Pitch are absolute classics! After a few minutes on the summit, we descended by down-climbing the Owen-Spalding route, avoiding the long lines at the rappel. We were back at the parking area in less than 12 hours. This was probably my best day in the mountains to date. The weather was perfect, I felt really strong, the climbing was first rate, and climbing with Miles was really a great experience. I can't wait to get back to the Tetons.
This was my first rock climbing experience other than training. The Pownall-Gilkey route is challenging for a beginner, but attainable and quite exhilerating. It branches off from the Owens-Spaulding route and it is an enjoyable climb with several 5.4 - 5.6 pitches, and one 5.8 aided pitch. We left the JHMG base camp at 4am and were on the summit from ~10:30-11am. Clouds were already blowing in. We were socked in about 25% of the time, but fortunately were able to enjoy partial views in between clouds. My thanks to guide Evan for getting us up and back safely. It started to rain as we reached the saddle on the way down.
Sadly, some other climbers weren't so lucky. Lightening struck a climber near the summit later in the day, killing one person and injuring 5 others. We heard several helicopters coming and going high on the mountain about the time we reached the Petzold Caves and we knew something terrible had happened. My thoughts and prayers are with the deceased and her family.
Route Climbed: Upper Exum II, 5.6 Date Climbed: September 5, 1997
Partner: Steve Reynolds
Left Lower Saddle at 5:30 am. Reached Wall Street just after dawn. Summitted 12:15 am; crowded but very fun. Yellow ribbon for climbing friend Don Hutchings (being held hostage in Kashmir) left in summit cracks. Very lengthy wait for raps down. Back at tent /Lower Saddle at 5:00 pm. Wild thunderstorm that night.
A 74 year old mother was in the party ahead of us (Hutchison). Golden Staircase warm & beautiful & joyous to climb. Missed V-Pitch -- did a more strenuous variation.
Robert Lutz - Jun 2, 2004 11:40 pm
Route Climbed: hard one for me Date Climbed: july, 2003amazing. absolutley amazing.
Bootboy - May 29, 2004 2:41 am
Route Climbed: upper exum Date Climbed: July 2002Nice day, good weather until second rap. That got a bit tense. Exum is a cakewalk, awsome mountain though. Coming back for north ridge
t511a - Apr 28, 2004 10:49 pm
Route Climbed: Exum Ridge Date Climbed: 1Sep2001storm had just moved thru the night before, left heavy winds for us to climb in. made it a little dodgy. nevertheless, had a great climb. one of the most stunning ranges i've seen.
bteddy - Apr 19, 2004 11:50 pm
Route Climbed: upper exum Date Climbed: july '01nice day good climb. definitly want something more technical like Petzoldt though
jstanley - Apr 19, 2004 9:46 am
Route Climbed: East Ridge Date Climbed: 7 Aug 1970Khalden Sherpa and I climbed this route in perfect weather. We got off route, as many do, and didn't reach the summit til 6 PM. We descended the Owen Spaulding route and walked down the mountain until it became too dark to go any farther. We bivied and hiked back over the ridge to our campsite the next morning.
gunnersmith - Apr 18, 2004 8:57 pm
Route Climbed: Owen-Spalding Date Climbed: August 14, 2002I live this mountain. I love Jackson. I want to go back for the traverse.
Chris - Mar 23, 2004 10:09 pm
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Ridge Date Climbed: August 1994This is an awesome climb! Great views, great rock, super scenic approach... it just doesn't get much better.
t_dub - Nov 6, 2003 9:16 pm
Route Climbed: owen-spalding w/ wittich crack variation Date Climbed: aug '97Is this not just a beaut of a rock? The view is amazing. Make sure to check out the Black Tail Butte directly east accross the valley. It is supprisingly some great climbing with no approach at all. Just roll out of your tent at GrosVentre and cruise to the parking lot and climb. Can't wait to go back. See you in Moose.
Nyle Walton - Nov 6, 2003 10:28 am Date Climbed: Jul 20, 1950
Route Climbed: Owens-Spaulding Date Climbed: July, 1950Midway through the 20th Century on a summer trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I gazed upon the awesome Grand Teton for the first time. At its base near Jenny Lake, I met mountain-guide Glenn Exum and his attractive blond wife. Exum's appearance was a cross between the movie actors, Errol Flynn and Gilbert Roland, the latter whom I had just seen in a class-B movie entitled "High Conquest" where the Cisco Kid played a Swiss guide somewhat reluctant to undertake a death-defying climb of the Matterhorn. The prospect of reliving this movie inspired me to borrow thirty dollars from my father to pay Exum to guide me up the "Matterhorn of the Rockies."
I was disappointed when my guide turned out to be not the handsome Exum but rather a younger member of his staff, Bob Merriam. Bob led his wife, Doris, Ronald Davis, and me up along switchbacks that led through the forest and up a glacial ravine to the 12,000-foot saddle between the Grand and Middle Tetons. There we camped for the night before ascending steeply to a higher saddle where we roped up and traversed horizontally along a narrow exposed ledge called the "Cooning Place" (as I recall). A few more terrifying pitches subsequently put us on the slabby summit of the Grand Teton.
The weather was good and we could see every peak from Mount Moran and Jackson Lake on the north to South Teton and Jackson town to the south. Bob and his wife sat on a ledge below the summit. I was able to catch them from above through my viewfinder with their legs dangling over the abyss and Jenny Lake 7,000 feet below their feet for a very vertiginous photograph. A kodachrome of sixteen-year-old me sitting on the summit appears in my profile.
This was my first experience with technical climbing. Subsequently that same year (1950) I wrote an account of the climb that covered a newspaper-size page in the Salt Lake Tribune Sunday Magazine Section entitled "Feet on the Teton." A photograph of our guide and his wife taken from the summit looks down on their boots suspended above Jenny Lake is one of five pictures that appeared with the full-page article. The yellowed newspaper sheet remains folded among my most precious momentos.
Scott Wesemann - Jan 14, 2008 12:02 am
Here is your logNyle,
Here is a picture of your actual summit signature. I'm not sure if you have seen this, but I thought it was pretty awesome.
http://www.tetonclimbinghistory.com/page21/files/1950_GT02_7-17-.jpg
mrrich - Sep 14, 2003 11:23 pm
Route Climbed: Owen Spalding (sort of) Date Climbed: 12 Aug 2003I'm not sure why I let my little Brother talk me into leaving the tent at 4:30am.. We ended up climbing to the top in the dark.. Since we had not been their before,,, we left the Owen Spalding route before the belly crawl and ended up with a direct ascent.. All in all,, it was great.. We sat up on top and watched the sun come up.. warmed up in the sun for about an hour,,, We didn't see the next climber until we were on our way back down..
grandwazoo - Aug 25, 2003 5:30 pm
Route Climbed: OS Date Climbed: August 22, 2003Had bad weather from the lower saddle to the peak, with only a few brief shots of the sun. Near zero visibility with some slight rain.
b. - Aug 21, 2003 2:07 pm
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Date Climbed: August 2, 2003My third summit of the Grand, first by Owen-Spalding, second by Direct Exum, and this, my first time crossing the Wall Street gap. The route was more memorable this time around, with my wife. 3.5 hours from the Lower Saddle, and we jumped every group of guides we encountered. My first pleasant experience with the guides in the Tetons. All were happy on the summit.
miztflip - Aug 12, 2003 7:06 pm
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Ridge Date Climbed: August 7, 2003Fun climb to a great summit. The Golden Staircase was the best climbing on the route. I didn't even know I was on the Friction Pitch until it was over. Simul-climbed with my wife and found the ridge to be shorter and easier than expected. Mostly 4th and very low 5th class climbing.
Passed 5 Exum guided groups as the ridge was wide and hosted many variations.
A true Classic.
rgmackie - Aug 9, 2003 6:41 pm
Route Climbed: Owens Spaulding Date Climbed: 16 August 2002One day climb. Very windy at the lower saddle and opted for OS route. Mostly class 3.
EatSleepandClimb - Aug 8, 2003 9:49 pm
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Ridge Date Climbed: July 2002Wow, what an awesome climb! This was my first technichal climb of a mountain and it was a great experience. We had great weather and had a clear view at the top (only blemish was the hazy smoke from all of the fires in the midwest at the time). Wall Street, Friction Pitch, and the Golden Staircase were all fun. We descended down the Owen-Spalding and completed the long rap. The hikes up and down were enjoyable too.
Tom Fralich - Aug 8, 2003 5:15 pm
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Ridge Date Climbed: August 2, 2003Climbed with big wall speed climber Miles Smart to the summit in about 6.5 hrs from Lupine Meadows. We made very good time to the Lower Saddle, had a quick break, and took only about 1 hr on the route itself (from Wall Street ledge). The climbing was fantastic - beautiful rock, interesting moves, and great views and exposure. The Golden Staircase and Friction Pitch are absolute classics! After a few minutes on the summit, we descended by down-climbing the Owen-Spalding route, avoiding the long lines at the rappel. We were back at the parking area in less than 12 hours. This was probably my best day in the mountains to date. The weather was perfect, I felt really strong, the climbing was first rate, and climbing with Miles was really a great experience. I can't wait to get back to the Tetons.
Alpinist - Jul 29, 2003 6:36 pm Date Climbed: Jul 26, 2003
Route Climbed: Pownall-GilkeyThis was my first rock climbing experience other than training. The Pownall-Gilkey route is challenging for a beginner, but attainable and quite exhilerating. It branches off from the Owens-Spaulding route and it is an enjoyable climb with several 5.4 - 5.6 pitches, and one 5.8 aided pitch. We left the JHMG base camp at 4am and were on the summit from ~10:30-11am. Clouds were already blowing in. We were socked in about 25% of the time, but fortunately were able to enjoy partial views in between clouds. My thanks to guide Evan for getting us up and back safely. It started to rain as we reached the saddle on the way down.
Sadly, some other climbers weren't so lucky. Lightening struck a climber near the summit later in the day, killing one person and injuring 5 others. We heard several helicopters coming and going high on the mountain about the time we reached the Petzold Caves and we knew something terrible had happened. My thoughts and prayers are with the deceased and her family.
Sharon - Jul 23, 2003 9:17 pm
Route Climbed: Upper Exum II, 5.6 Date Climbed: September 5, 1997Partner: Steve Reynolds
Left Lower Saddle at 5:30 am. Reached Wall Street just after dawn. Summitted 12:15 am; crowded but very fun. Yellow ribbon for climbing friend Don Hutchings (being held hostage in Kashmir) left in summit cracks. Very lengthy wait for raps down. Back at tent /Lower Saddle at 5:00 pm. Wild thunderstorm that night.
A 74 year old mother was in the party ahead of us (Hutchison). Golden Staircase warm & beautiful & joyous to climb. Missed V-Pitch -- did a more strenuous variation.
JesseJoseph - Jul 18, 2003 11:47 am
Route Climbed: Upper Exum Ridge Date Climbed: July 11th, 2003Awesome climb, great views and exposure, routefinding pretty straightforward. Next time I'll try it in a day!