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How many have summitted Grand Teton?

Original Post
Doug Lintz · · Kearney, NE · Joined Apr 2004 · Points: 1,196

A friend and I recently went up Upper Exum. We topped out around 1 p.m. on a perfect weather day. Since there was only 10 of us on the summit I figured we had missed the crowds.

It go me thinking. How many people actually summit the Grand in a year (by any route)? How many total over the years? Anyone have an educated guess? Just curious.

Doug

Nick Stayner · · Wymont Kingdom · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 2,315

Well, considering guided clients summit it almost daily between July and September, I'd say a TON!
And ten people on the summit at 1 PM seems like a lot. Most times, even when I've passed parties lower on the mtn, I've had the summit to myself. Oh well, party on the summit!

Tim McCabe · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Oct 2006 · Points: 130

I climbed the Grand exactly 20 years ago not sure the exact date but I know it was August of 90. Even though we passed a fair number of what looked like guided parties on the upper Exum we saw no one else on the summit and they were all down before we got to the rappels.

I came to the conclusion that the guides don't take customers all the way to the actual summit. The ridge if fairly long and out of the way as far as getting back down. Just a guess on my part but it seems to make sense to just find a high spot on the ridge and call it the summit then head down.

Doug Lintz · · Kearney, NE · Joined Apr 2004 · Points: 1,196

Ten is alot? Given the streams of people I saw headed for the lower saddle the day before and in the morning past our tent at the Moraine I figured the summit would be standing room only.

Blitzo · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 44,395

I was up there once 35 years ago, 1975. It was an electrical snow storm, which became a white-out on the rappel.
There were about a dozen people on top, but don't forget that the number of people up there is regulated.

dan zika · · jax wy · Joined May 2009 · Points: 5
Blitzo wrote:I was up there once 35 years ago, 1975. It was an electrical snow storm, which became a white-out on the rappel. There were about a dozen people on top, but don't forget that the number of people up there is regulated.
And Where R U getting your info cause its wrong Nps has no real clue how many people summit except lightbeam counters on trails & those who camp & tell the NPS what they R doing. Cause many people just do it car 2 car in 24 hrs or so & dont tell a soul
lynne wolfe · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 25
I came to the conclusion that the guides don't take customers all the way to the actual summit. The ridge if fairly long and out of the way as far as getting back down. Just a guess on my part but it seems to make sense to just find a high spot on the ridge and call it the summit then head down.


You can't seriously believe this- clients aren't necessarily skilled in the mountains but they sure aren't stupid. The top is the top. If I turn around with clients in tow then it is abundantly clear why we are doing so- the weather or someone's health. I have turned around at the top of the Owen Chimney or skedaddled from the black hole to the rappel a number of times, usually chased by some black low clouds.

And there is a web site somewhere with scans of all the summit registers over the years- poke around and you will find it. I figured it out one day- think that perhaps around 3000 people a year summit, using averages and heavy days in the summer (20 people or so).

There were about a dozen people on top, but don't forget that the number of people up there is regulated. No, not regulated any more. Don't have to register (although with some of the boy scout/ church groups I see up there (and have gone out of my way to escort down), I sometimes wish it still were.
JML · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2009 · Points: 30

Never summited the Grand but whenever the subject comes up it reminds me of my favorite summit photo of all time. This is my dad in 1957 after completing a new route on the east ridge with Bill Cropper.

rgold · · Poughkeepsie, NY · Joined Feb 2008 · Points: 526

LW wrote, "...there is a web site somewhere with scans of all the summit registers over the years..."

The site is at

tetonclimbinghistory.com/

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

It's actually been full for at least a month; not to mention the 40th anniversary was a packed Ranch with some really neat people and quite the historic retelling of routes, climber feats & expeditions, and how the Ranch came to be. (along with a ton of food and pie galore!)

Every time I have been there, it truly lives up to a namesake that it is where East & West meet to enjoy some alpine climbs.

The thing these past few years has been the Traverse; granted, the Grand is the big attraction.

One thing I wonder, how many unguided people can actually find the Eye of the Needle?

lynne wolfe · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 25

The guides don't use the Eye too much. It is hard to protect for folks that need a rope. But I have seen a lot of rockfall from folks just bulling their way up the gully without finding the elegant ledges.

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

correct me here, but it's the Eye because it's the only tunnel/slot that doesn't require exposed scrambling. The other slot you may be thinking of is just a false terminus of a social trail that has some difficult 4th class involved which has a couple of webbings girthed to help with the pull through the slot.

lynne wolfe · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 25

From climbers left to right, there are roughly four ways to get through the cliff band that guards access to the upper mtn or to Wall Street.

Farthest left is the "sack of potatoes," which does have webbing threaded in it from time to time. It is up above the obvious left-most gully.

Next to the right is the "crack of doom," which has nice big holds and is quite steep, very positive.

Then is the Briggs slab, slick white slab where most of the guides take their clients.

Farthest right is the Eye of the Needle- cleanest access is on a ledge system that runs underneath the eye itself, from the bottom of the Briggs slab. Can get there directly from below in a steep loose gully. Left of the eye is an exposed step-across with 30 feet down to the loose gully. It is fairly easy but consequences are high. Guides take highly skilled clients across it with specific coaching and sometimes a long cordelette slung/ clipped for the exposed move.

Brian in SLC · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Oct 2003 · Points: 21,711
Mark Nelson wrote:It's actually been full for at least a month
Rumor has it at 99.9% capacity this season. Fantastic!

Mark Nelson wrote:not to mention the 40th anniversary was a packed Ranch
Great time. Great food!

Mark Nelson wrote:One thing I wonder, how many unguided people can actually find the Eye of the Needle?
I always tell folks who haven't been up there to suss out that area on the day prior to their ascent. Makes it go easier in the dark the next day.

There are a few options (as Lynne explained). Some easier than others...

My guess for number of ascents per season: 1200.
PDub-Trad Forschizzle · · Corvallis, Oregon · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 241

When I climbed it in 2003, despite poor weather I was still faced with a crowd of a dozen.

For the trip as a whole - I was actually slightly surprised to get the Devils Tower to myself yet, when we got around to climbing the Grand, it was back to rubbing shoulders with other groups.

Not being from Wyoming I expected the opposite...

Carl Dowdy · · Golden, CO · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 15
lynne wolfe wrote: You can't seriously believe this- clients aren't necessarily skilled in the mountains but they sure aren't stupid. The top is the top. If I turn around with clients in tow then it is abundantly clear why we are doing so- the weather or someone's health.
On Rainier i'm pretty sure the guides are regularly convincing clients that close to the top is the top.

As for the Grand Teton, we had the summit to ourselves at 8am on a Saturday a few weeks ago (via Exum Ridge from the parking lot at 1am). The Ranch was full the night prior so we slept at the TH.
Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

Some thing of another topic -- Stettners has been releasing some serious tonnage of rockfall. One couple had their sites on the Petzoldt; I don't know, I thought the approach & first sections were exposed on the larger releases and told them about the daily slides. They had no idea and weren't relayed info from the Jenny station, I don't know if anyone else feels like this is pertinent condition report or not. I guess a few years back the chockstone let loose so now the couloir is now more susceptible to release debris.

Double J · · Sandy, UT · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 3,931

I was just there for a week and didn't notice anything coming out of Stettners. We did the Direct Petzoldt and attempted the Lower Exum a few days later. Last summer was was there, same time of the summer and noticed rockfall from the culoir. I think that is is finally getting quiet in there, and most of the larger stuff has been flushed out, not to say that everything is down.

But to the topic, my guess is over 1K a year make it to the top with over a 65% success.

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

I guess that might be lucky, we saw three take out the approach and first scrambly pitch last week; though they were in the afternoon/early eve. They were not small debris slides either; sounded like a plane crashing though the mountain and sent good sized engine blocks just about to the moraine trail.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Colorado
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