The Grand Tetons

Midway up the route.  The lower half of the route is a series of steep but moderate faces and chimineys on perfect rock.  The upper half is a lower angle and fairly easy alpine ridge which can be mixed rock and ice depending on the conditions.  When  we climbed it in August of 1991, there was little ice.   Perfect conditions.

Rob leads  “The Black Face”.  This is the classic pitch of the route.  Moderate but steep 5.8-5.9.  I re-climbed this route in icy conditions in 2000 with a young Austrailian climber named Owen.  He led this pitch and pulled off a rock this size of a TV set which sailed by me about 3 feet away and exploded in the talus 1000 feet below.

Starting up the “Black Face”.  When we started out in the morning it was snowing.   Everyone else remained in camp on the South Saddle.  The storm broke when we were about 4 pitches up and the rest of the day was perfect.  The rock dried almost immediately when the sun hit and so we were able to move smooth and fast   … and we had the entire mountain to ourselves! : )

Ingrid on the summit of Grand Teton, elevation 13,770′, surrounded by …Wyoming.

Rob on summit.  Jackson Lake beyond