Spam from the Grand Teton

Particulars
The Owen – Spalding Route, The Grand Teton, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The summit of the Grand Teton is 13,770 feet in elevation.

Difficulty: the two books I know that feature this climb claim that it is a grade II. This means that it is of moderate overall effort and will probably take most of a day. The definition of the grade goes babbling on about experience necessary and how easy it is to bail if things go badly. Let me just say that if things go badly on this mountain you might as well wish to trade places with Shackelton during his famous attempt to reach the South Pole. As far as the rock climbing goes, this is a 5.4. If the route is coated with ice, 5.4 will take on a whole new meaning for you. By the way, did I mention that the summit is at 13,770 feet? It is and this is high enough to make you wish for more oxygen.

Appeal: This is supposedly the easiest route to the top of the Grand Teton but don’t take it lightly – it is not easy. This summit is the highest in the Teton Range and is among the most majestic chunks of rock on our planet. Getting to the top of it is an experience of a life time. Do this. Don’t let your life slip by without climbing this peak.

{summit photo}
Spam
This was the second summit of my honeymoon with Tina. That said, I think my audience should be able to appreciate the depth of my sickness. She commented later that she would have preferred a trip to the Caribbean or Hawaii like other [more sane] people do. I have never really understood her perspective anyway.

This was also my first Teton Range summit and I had not any great depth of experience with leading big alpine climbs. Wanting to impress my new bride, I carried most of the gear including two ropes, a sizeable rack of rock protection devices, and enough camping gear and sundries to make us as comfortable as anyone staying in the Hilton Hotel at Cozumel. I made it about two miles up the Garnet Canyon trail from Lupine Meadow with all this junk and then stashed half of it in the woods. We continued on another six miles to Petzoldt Caves where we made camp. It was at this point when we discovered that all the food had been forgotten in the car. I made another round trip to retrieve the food and the junk in the woods.

The next day I got up and expounded on how it looked like a thunderstorm was approaching so we should take a rest day and maybe just day hike up to the Lower Saddle to check it out. This is what we did. Tina thought that I was just being lazy. In retrospect, I know she really wanted to be on a beach on some sunny island anyway and so I discount her opinions.

On the third day we got up appropriately early for an alpine start and hiked up to the Lower Saddle again. We kept going past the Black Dike, past the Chockstone Chimney, past the Eye of the Needle, and all the way to the Upper Saddle. Here we put on our rock climbing shoes, stashed our packs, and roped up. We marveled at the extreme exposure as we did the Belly Roll and the Crawl. Looking down at Idaho from this place is certainly awesome. The trees some several thousand feet below look like astro-turf. It was at the Double Chimney where we started finding trouble. The floor of this chimney was coated with ice and there were precious few foot holds on the sides. I recall jumping up, grabbing a horn of rock and doing a pull-up on it. I belly flopped over it and set an anchor. When Tina reached the point directly below the horn, she said, “How do you think I am going to get up there?” She is only five-foot-four but somehow endowed with enough skill to follow any stupid thing I climbed. I gave her a tight belay and up she came.

Beyond the upper reaches of the Double Chimney a wide series of slabs slant gradually upwards for almost a rope length. This feature, called the Catwalk, must certainly be easy if it is dry but it is still quite exposed. On this particular day the Catwalk was coated with verglass – a thin clear coating of ice that was beginning to melt on its surface. I proceeded up these slabs for nearly half a rope length without finding anywhere to place any protection. Finally, I found an old piton and I gladly clipped into it. More old pitons followed. From the end of the Catwalk we wandered upwards and after crossing an exposed snow field on the east side found the summit. I don’t remember how many pitches we belayed but it was a lot. I think under other conditions we wouldn’t have needed to belay so much of it but all the ice tended to make everything rather dicey.

The decent from the Grand involves finding a point near the south end of the Catwalk where a nice long free rappel begins. It is best to have a double rope for this. I think it is possible to get down with only one rope but you may have to swing to the belay. By the time we got to this point, we didn’t want to take on any more challenges. I recall that I set one more rap to get down the Chockstone Chimney just before reaching the Black Dike again. This probably isn’t really necessary but as tired as we were, it was for the best.

It was late when we returned to our camp at the Petzoldt Caves and I was happy to have completed such a wonderful adventure. Tina was happy to have survived and vowed to become more assertive about choosing vacation venues.
Logistics
Jackson, Wyoming is the nearest town. It is mostly a tourist hangout and a skiing venue in the wintertime but there is a climbing shop and there are numerous places to get a beer or a meal. The Climber’s Ranch owned by The American Alpine Club is the place to stay if you are a climber. They have cool little log cabins with bunks, communal showers, and a communal al fresco cooking and eating area. It is inexpensive. There are campgrounds in the park (you need a reservation) or a very expensive KOA a little south of Jackson.

It would be a good idea to understand the Grand Teton National Park system of permits. It is not necessary to have a permit to climb; however, you must have a permit to camp and most climbs in the Tetons will involve at least one overnight. The Park Service does not issue permits for the same day. You must get a permit for at least tomorrow but no more than three days in advance. Also, stays in a particular area are limited to two days. Therefore, it will help to be well versed with the various camp sites and areas for the climb you want to do. In general, it will not be possible to say, camp at the lower saddle and climb the Grand one day and Middle the next.

If you are coming from afar you will probably fly into Salt Lake City, Utah and drive up from there. Alternately, Horizon Airlines flies to Idaho Falls, Idaho and I’m pretty sure you could rent a car from there. You really need a car to get around when you go the Tetons so bring your own or rent one.

The Owen – Spalding Route is detailed in A Climber’s Guide to the Teton Range by Leigh Ortenburger and Reynold Jackson as well as Teton Classics by Richard Rossiter. There is enough stuff to climb in the Tetons to keep you busy for most of a lifetime, I think and the heft of Ortenburger’s book attests to this.