Grand Teton in one day

So apparently its too late to get a permit to camp on the Teton...

So how much is it to ask to do the whole thing in a day?

Thanks guys,
Tom

Which route?

If you're fit it's doable but it's a bit bigger than climbing Long's in a day if you want something to compare it to. About 10 miles RT and almost 7000 ft of gain.

OS should take 6-10 hours RT for a fit 23 year old. Adjust time accordingly for routes you need to protect.

I'd imagine adding up to 4 hours for the complete Exum.

Not bad if you go light. Definitely go early and read up. It an be confusing the first time

was planning on the owen spalding.

And sorry for the newb question, what does RT mean?

Tom Grummon wrote: was planning on the owen spalding. And sorry for the newb question, what does RT mean?

Round Trip.

It depends on your generic hiking speed. Multiply Longs Peak by 1.25 or 1.5 if you've done that. Leave the axe and crampons at home this year, you can use the fixed rope up the right side of the snowfield and never touch snow.

If you see a short couple with a 4 door black tacoma say hi, we'll be up there doing something or other for the next 5 days.

Oh yes, car to car is way better if you are up for it. It is a beast of a backpack.

the permit issue saved you some trouble. (RT means round trip)
My first trip to Tetons in the 90's I went heavy and regretted it. Ever since, its been car to car no matter the route. Personally I think car to car is even better if you're NOT in top alpine shape (assuming you are fit enough to climb anything) Just take it slow and easy. For the O.S. you will barely need a rope and a few pieces.
Maybe see you there in a few weeks

Mark Pilate wrote:the permit issue saved you some trouble. (RT means round trip) My first trip to Tetons in the 90's I went heavy and regretted it. Ever since, its been car to car no matter the route. Personally I think car to car is even better if you're NOT in top alpine shape (assuming you are fit enough to climb anything) Just take it slow and easy. For the O.S. you will barely need a rope and a few pieces. Maybe see you there in a few weeks

Thinking about backpacking it makes my knees hurt. CTC is way easier.

Doing the OS car to car in a day is no big deal as one does not really need to carry any gear - a competent climber can up and down climb the route easily. Get to the Saddle - hydrate up, eat something, assess the weather and go. Do not forget to take your bacon sandwich.

We allowed one day ... thats all we needed anyhow - David DeLap

youtube.com/watch?v=goVrUOC…

I did the Upper Exum, rappelled to the base of the difficulties on the OS, climbed that then descended. 1st and 2nd person to summit that day.
Onsight Car to car in 10;45.
That was stopping to chat on the trail with a climbing buddy I hadn't seen in awhile, which took about 30 minutes. Seemed more important then my time.

I was 24 at the time. It wasn't that big of a deal.

A lot of fun! Enjoy!

josh

Ive been up there 3 times. For whatever its worth, I wouldn't recommend a first timer to go car to car. The hike is a beast but straight forward. Finding either the os or the exum will be difficult for a first timer. If you can make it to the saddle by 3am then you could follow exum guides if their still up there, if not the approach to either route from there is involved and not straight forward. Maybe id suggest taking a hike to the saddle one day and finding the os then come back and fire to the top the next day. Either way be safe and plan for any weather. Check out wyomingwhisky.org that guy has the best beta of anyone and hes nice as anyone I've ever met.

Ryan N wrote:Ive been up there 3 times. For whatever its worth, I wouldn't recommend a first timer to go car to car. The hike is a beast but straight forward. Finding either the os or the exum will be difficult for a first timer. If you can make it to the saddle by 3am then you could follow exum guides if their still up there, if not the approach to either route from there is involved and not straight forward. Maybe id suggest taking a hike to the saddle one day and finding the os then come back and fire to the top the next day. Either way be safe and plan for any weather. Check out wyomingwhisky.org that guy has the best beta of anyone and hes nice as anyone I've ever met.

I can't see any benefit of backpacking if you are fit unless you happen to hate your knees. It's tricky whether you have 20 or 50 lbs of weight.

Exum leaves the saddle around 3-4am and is back to the saddle by 10-11am or so. Take a lesson from that. Unless you are dealing with rock solid weather (i.e. ZERO chance of thunderstorms), be back at the saddle no later than 11am. If you are doing it car-to-car, that means leaving the trailhead around midnight or so at the latest. And don't under estimate how hard it will be to navigate the lower portion of the OS in the dark.

For someone not familiar, the only way I'd recommend car-to-car is with rock solid weather because it is highly unlikely you'll be down to the saddle by 11am......

Hey man! you scared me with the permit stuff. Looks like 1/3 are available for online reservation and 2/3 for walk-ups.

When are you going to be up there? I'm looking for a partner/a group I can tag along with as a 3rd next week.

Very doable. First time I did the grand I met my partner (a stranger from a message board) in the Lupine Meadowns lot for oatmeal breakfast. We summited by noon via Upper Exum.

I did it in a day a few months ago having not ever been there before. Getting from the meadows to the lower saddle in the dark was pretty hard. Also, finding the right way from the lower to the upper saddle was really hard. Try to follow someone who knows where they are going.

@Jace, that will teach me to read the whole thing next time. I stopped reading after the bright yellow box told me that reservations were closed.

I bet we're still going to try and go in one day. I just finished hiking the Appalachian Trail so I'm not too worried about the hiking. But the route finding sounds intimidating.

What rack would some of you recommend?

Set of nuts. Maybe a couple cams if you're nervous. (For Upper Exum). For OS - no rack necessary.

The route finding is not hard. Yeah there are a few ways to between the Lower and Upper Saddle that can make you back track or do a bit of 4th class climbing. But nothing of major concern.

The OS itself is straight forward, just look at Leigh and Renny's book. Just remember the route up for the descent.

As for a rack? If you really need something take a few medium and small cams plus a few nuts. More importantly, a bunch of long runners as above the chimney the route wanders a bit.

Tom Grummon wrote:What rack would some of you recommend?

If you're doing the Owen-Spalding there's only 50' or so of mild 5th class climbing. Depending on your comfort level you might want a few cams and a handful of nuts.

For a route description in microscopic detail see wyomingwhiskey.net.

Andy Laakmann wrote:Exum leaves the saddle around 3-4am and is back to the saddle by 10-11am or so.

Don't be discouraged by this. You're probably fitter than the average guided client, and the guides belay their clients every inch of the way once the climbing gets to 3rd class (and there's lots of that). I'm a pretty average climber and the first time I was up there we took about 5 hours round-trip from the Lower Saddle.