Grand Tetons National Park, WY
Grand Teton via Upper Exum Ridge (5.6, Trad, Grade V, 14 miles round trip, 7,000 ft of vertical gain, 1,000 ft of climbing)
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| Josh ontop of Spalding Falls getting ready for the push to the Lower Saddle. |
After Yosemite, we stop by home for a couple days to re-cooperate and to say goodbye to my Mom as she heads to Texas. We had a few more days to spare so we set out for the Grand Tetons. It was Kt's first time there. It truly is a magnificent range of mountains. We only had time for an overnighter and our window to summit was short but our spirits were high as we started.
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| "I'm not cute, I'm Kt." - Kt Allred |
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| The Middle Teton |
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| Negotiating the boulder field. |
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| Our camp site! Next to a waterfall! Yeah! |
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| First sign of the Grand. |
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| Looking back on Garnett Canyon. |
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| Home for the night. You can see our tent in the background. |
The next day we headed out to for the Grand. We didn't realize that it was so far of a hike from the Meadow to the Lower Saddle. It took up most of the morning and we had really bad wind.
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| Kt ontop of Spalding Falls. |
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| Kt the Alpinist. |
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| Kt admiring the glacier. |
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| Kt starting up the scramble to the Lower Saddle. |
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| Josh's turn. |
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| Hero stance from Josh. |
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| Holy cow it was windy. 50 mph winds! |
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| The wind was blowing us over. |
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| This is what the other side of the Tetons look like. |
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| Kt navigating the boulders of the Lower Saddle. |
W ended up calling it quits due to 50 mph winds, the fun factor was down the tube. Some of the Exum Guide groups were able to summit (with the 4 am start at the Lower Saddle) but most turned around. We pushed through to the Wall Street area. Next time, we'll get it. It was quite a challenge to route find just to start the route. Now we are set to go for our second attempt. On my way down from exploring, I did some exciting 4 class climbing and stumbled onto the route toward Wall Street and the Eye of the Needle (which was this awesome boulder cave).
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| Josh having a don't fall moment. |
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| Whew, the worst is over! |
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| We were fed up of the wind. |
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| Go away wind! |
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| Still smiling. We had a fun day in the mountains. |
On our way down Kt spranged her ankle pretty bad on a stupid boulder. She was so tough and still made down the 7 miles that night! Girl is crazy! Also we ran across an Aspiro guide on our descent. We can't escape work even in Wyoming! The Tetons was a great experience for Kt and I. Even without a summit. It is amazing has climbing has evolved the older I get. It has more meaning everyday.
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| A marmot! |
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| Happy to be heading down. |
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| "Cute little Pika." - Kt Allred |
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| Spalding Falls |
