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Orphaned · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2007 · Points: 11,560

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Ryan N · · Bellingham, WA · Joined May 2009 · Points: 195

I haven't been either, and will be down there around the same time. My vote is get after it hard and immerse yourself in the unknown! Go big or go home. Maby I will see you there?

mark felber · · Wheat Ridge, CO · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 41

Dike Route on Middle Teton, NE Ridge of Moran, CMC route on Moran and the Koven Route are 4 that come to mind for the level you describe. Grand Teton will probably be extremely crowded if the snow is melted, but Upper Exum would be a good choice. East Ridge of Grand Teton is much longer and a touch more difficult than you specify, but an excellent route.

Michael Schneiter · · Glenwood Springs, CO · Joined Apr 2002 · Points: 10,406

Upper Exum is super classic and very moderate.

Get the big fat guidebook and take a look at the routes. My father in law lives in Jackson and most every summer we get out on some routes. Often we pick more obscure peaks or routes in the search for super moderate routes because he just can't pull hard anymore now that he's in his 60s. We never have a bad time. Stuff like Symmetry Spire and Nez Perce can be very fun.

Enjoy

Johny Q · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 35
Ellenor Stone wrote: i have some rock and ice experience including trad lead up to 6 steady. ?
Ok, I will bite, what WTF does this mean? You facinate the mind. Is gade 6 steady a new term for mixed climbing or something?
-sp · · East-Coast · Joined May 2007 · Points: 75
Johny Q wrote: Ok, I will bite, what WTF does this mean? You facinate the mind. Is grade 6 steady a new term for mixed climbing or something?
Funny, but I thought the same thing.
Danielyaris · · Salem, OR · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 20

you may want to try the owen spalding 5.4

Me and a friend did it as our first Alpine rock climb back in the 90's in mountaineering boots with 2 cams, and 3 stoppers. It was great, exposure was quite grand, and weather changed. Route finding can be difficult if the weather changes.

You will be at higher elevation so that may tax you a bit so lowering a grade may make sense.
The Upper Exum is good too! You could do both in approach shoes too.

Eric D · · Gnarnia · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 235

I wouldn't recommend upper exum unless you feel good simul-climbing and are a fast multi-pitch climber. That route has seen plenty of accidents involving people in over their heads. I had to climb through a big dried pool of blood when I did it in 2002.

dan zika · · jax wy · Joined May 2009 · Points: 5
Danielyaris wrote:you may want to try the owen spalding 5.4 Route finding can be difficult if the weather changes. You will be at higher elevation so that may tax you a bit so lowering a grade may make sense. The Upper Exum is good too! You could do both in approach shoes too.
Route can be difficult w/o experience in good weather. To start o/s, or the east ridge of dissapoimtment is 5.6 lots of options over on that one so its a little easier, route finding. Maybe the east ridge ofcube, my advice is work on route finding skills that will serve well down the road. oh yeah check the aac climbers ranch for beta & place to stay
Alex Swan · · West · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 25
Ellenor Stone wrote:it means i can lead a trad 5.6 route comfortably ...and expect to lead some of the pitches up to 6 on a warmup will see what happens after that...if my partner dumps me im hiring a guide! im serious about that too :)
I would recommend you get a guide. This based on your experience with trad. The Owen Spaulding is going to feel pretty exposed for you. If you're going to go without a guide you should be able to climb at least 5.9 trad. Just Sayin'
Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

The Guides Wall is pretty cool and allows a bail just about anywhere. Usually considered an intro for Tetoning.

Gabriel Adams · · Jackson, WY · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 115

I would defiantly recommend the upper Exum over the OS. I lived in Jackson for a few months last year between semesters. I think most people could do it in a day car to car. It was one of the first routes i did while i was there and the biggest problem we faced was following the approach in the dark and matching up the pictures in the guide book to what i was seeing. My previous most difficult route finding experience was finding a trail at muir valley that made the trip to the parking lot easier.

ddriver · · SLC · Joined Jul 2007 · Points: 2,084

Its very easy for people to get in over their heads in the Tetons. As a 5.6 climber your options are extremely limited unless your physical conditioning and/or snow/ice skills are far more advanced than your rock skills.

I'm just trying to help you set realistic goals.

E.g., You're not likely to do the Grand car to car if you've never even seen the peak before. The summit is at 13,770 and the trailhead around 7,000. You can do the math. Those who do pull this off are generally doing the Owen-Spalding or soloing the Upper Exum.

One thing to keep in mind with the Tetons is that the nature of the climbing is not nearly as straightforward as many areas you're probably familiar with. The rock does not lend itself to obvious crack lines that are easy to route-find. Also, on the high peaks you have tremendous exposure to storm systems and you need some margin of safety with your skill set in order to be able to react to adversity.

I would recommend you start on lower ground to acclimatize. The Guide's Wall was recommended as a lower elevation option but I can't really think of much in the way of 5.6 there. Symmetry Spire might be about the best thing for you, but don't underestimate it either. There's a reasonable chance you'll be walking out in the dark.

The rangers at Jenny Lake are invaluable for providing route conditions and recommendations. Go see them! And, again, you're going to invest considerable time, money, and energy to go climbing in an incredible place, the heart of American alpinism with a rich history, a place which you have seemingly very limited knowledge of... do yourself a favor and put in a little research. Buy the damn guidebook! It may well save your butt, and at the least it well set you on the right course. The Tetons are fairly complex, and Jackson-Ortenburger did a wonderful job of capturing the place and recommending and describing routes within your skill set. The other investment I would recommend if you can pull it off is to read the AAC accidents journals for your intended routes in the Tetons. The climber's ranch may have these. It will be an eye opener.

Good luck.

EB · · Winona · Joined Jan 2002 · Points: 1,207

Teewinot is one of the best summits in the range and goes at 4th class. A rope may be handy for you for both climbing and descending. Baxter's pinnacle; even though it checks in at 5.10; 90% of the route is 5.6-5.7 and the 5.10 section is super short and fixed with pitons(a sport pitch essentially).

Mike Willig · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2004 · Points: 750

It would be very easy to get off route on the Grand...even on a nice day. I've been up the OS a few times and Exum.... it's very easy to think you're somewhere that you're not. In my opinion, the beginner routes on the Grand are more complex than most other places because you can't simply pull out a map of the route and "see" it in front of you. With all the spires and buttresses it isn't as straight forward as looking at the map and following the line....

Martin le Roux · · Superior, CO · Joined Jul 2003 · Points: 401

Excellent advice from ddriver and Mike Willig. Another key skill is to be able to move efficiently on 4th- and easy 5th-class terrain -- short-roping or simul-climbing if necessary. Beginners often climb slowly because the temptation is to over-protect and climb in pitches. That's fine at your local crag but on a big mountain you're at risk of being caught by afternoon thunderstorms or nightfall.

Mark D. · · Santa Fe · Joined May 2003 · Points: 75

A lot of good points here. I will say that the Tetons kicked my ass. I spent a week climbing big routes nearly everyday and it was a big difference from a lot of the climbing I have done in CO. THe descents are big and can be tricky. So, even if you find your way up the route you still need to get down and you will most likely be pretty worked. It can be an intimidating place. That being said it is also one of the coolest ranges around and the climbs are amazing. Start out slow to get a feel for it and work your way up to some of the big classics. We started on Irene's thinking it would be pretty moderate. It was a big day and doing the descent in our rock shoes sucked. Have fun!

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

Oh there's a good point. You totally want to get good approach shoes.

The Tetons are great mountaineering hikes punctuated with half-day moderate climbs (half-day if you can do good route finding -- keep going up). That's how I see the area; somewhat similar to RMNP; though not near as difficult in pure sustained technical climbing, and not as obvious in the route; but a great adventure just the same.

I found getting the approach shoes up at the climbing store in Jackson actually is good idea & reasonably priced. I think I get a pair of sportivas each year and they do great.

Avoid the unplanned bivy at all cost; that part does suck monkey balls.

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

ddriver is pretty much dead on. one thing that i am surprised that nobody has mentioned - the grand, and in particular the OS and the Exum are an absolute shit show of slow elderly fat financially comfortable males being dragged up by a conga line of guides. many of the aforementioned are also bailing which adds to the clusterfuck. given the details you have given about your abilities, i really don't think you will want to be up there unless you have somebody else in charge. i honestly don't think i would go back up there, even if somebody paid me to do so.

my (somewhat limited compared to a lot of others) experiences in the tetons can be summarized by saying that you want to be able to hike like an mfkr, routefind quickly like an mfkr, climb loose and potentially runout rock like an mfkr, be able to climb on wet and potentially icy rock like an mfkr, and pray for good weather like an mfkr. sorry if i'm not sugarcoating it for you, but i think you would be better off sticking to much lower committment objectives if you go up there.

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

i definitely wasn't knocking the guides - the guides up there are definitely among the best. when i was up there it was like a convention of 60 year old chubby guys who had apparently told the guides they were climbers, but weren't. they had things pretty clogged up, everything from that small scramble/fixed rope section pretty low on the approach up through the gully, the lower and upper exum. ugghhh. they literally coulcn't do the approach, but for some reason wouldn't bail.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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