Grand Teton in one day

Go for it!

Going light and doing it in a day is perhaps easier than doing it over 2 days with all that bivy gear. Plus the descent is practically the same as the descent for the owen-spaulding, so you can turn around at just about any point.

Just go for it!

Just did the Upper Exum up, and Owen Spalding route down this last weekend. Took forever when we got stuck behind a bunch of other groups. Owen Spalding will be mostly scrambling on the way up, so practice Simulclimbing (Sp?) but it will save you lots of time.

We left at 2am and made good time to the lower saddle, however it took us a long time from there since we weren't familiar with the routes. Spalding seemed straightforward though.

PACK LIGHT! And the route from the meadows to the lower saddle is very difficult to follow. So try to tag along with others if you can. There are two boulder fields that can get tricky.

All in all, Car to Car was awesome.

Good luck and hopefully you have great weather! Definitely a worthwhile trip

for those who have done it in Two days...day one, hike in and bivy. day 2 summit and retreat to base camp. What did you bring for food and is there a water supply if one brings a filter?

I'm gonna recommend two days. I've never done the Grand in a day, but I've done the OS once, the Upper Exum once, the complete Exum twice, and, on the other side, the direct North Face once. I've also done the lower part of the complete Exum up to Wall Street and then walked off in the face of threatening weather. And I've been part of a rescue team that carried a stretcher from the Upper to Lower saddles at night. Of course at this point I know where to go both on the ascent and the descent and it would be relatively easy to do it in a day. But if you've never been up there, you'll probably get a little lost and the more time you have the better.

Most people have totally casual experiences. That's mostly what you are hearing about, and with a little luck yours will be the same. Back before grade inflation, the route was a Teton grade 3. Any reasonably fit person with little or no climbing experience can and does do it.

But make no mistake, the Grand in a storm is an extremely nasty place to be. The Owen-Spaulding can ice up, turning an easy scramble into hard climbing (and/or downclimbing). A guide slipped on an icy section of the Owen-Spaulding and was killed a few years ago. Lightning on the Grand is a frightening prospect. Within the last few years, there have been lightening fatalities and injuries on both the Owen Spaulding and the Upper Exum.

Because of this, it makes sense to stack the odds in your favor, and I think that means starting from the Lower Saddle on the day you do the climb. All the stuff about knees and heavy packs is silly. You're a solid hiker, it's a solid hike. Just do it. In fact, what I'd do is to leave early enough on day one to find your way all the way up to the upper Saddle, so you know what to do the next morning and will know how to get back down too. You don't have to start the summit day at 3 AM or whatever the guides do, but I'd eat breakfast in the dark and be underway the moment the sky lightens, before sunrise for sure. You'll know where to go, but should hopefully be far enough behind the guides that you won't have to wait for them if they have a slow party.

I'd also take a few more pieces on your rack than people seem to be suggesting. If the weather is good, you actually shouldn't need any pieces and, except for the exposure, you really don't need a rope unless you want to do the standard rappel from the Catwalk to the Upper Saddle. It is a good idea to plan on doing this rappel, which avoids downclimbing the trickiest sections of the Owen-Spaulding, sections that can be quite taxing if there is icing.

Food is up to you. I can't help with water. My ascents were all in mid to late June in years when there was plenty of snow around. If that's all gone, you'll probably want to carry water up from the Meadows in Garnet Canyon. BITD you could just drink out of those streams but those times are long past; filtering or some other technology will be required.

By the way, in mid-June the plentiful snow made it possible to glissade non-stop from the Lower Saddle to the Garnet Canyon Meadows in a few minutes, but you'd sure want to have an ice axe for that. I don't know if anything like that is possible at at this time this year, probably not.

Finally, there's something no one has mentioned. Do the Grand in a day and you'll probably be on the go the whole time. Do it in two days and you get a lot more time to soak in the scene. Sunset on the Lower Saddle, with the shadows of the range advancing across Jackson Hole, and sunrise high on the mountain are worth savoring, as is a hopefully unhurried stay on the summit, another break on the Lower Saddle, and a leisurely descent back to Lupine Meadows in daylight. Aren't those things part of why you're there to begin with?

I did the direct Exum in a day without ever perviously climbing the Grand. Pitched out the lower in four pitches and solo'd the upper. Rapp'd off the OS.

I would enjoy spending a week up there climbing various routes but sometimes one day is all you have.

T.Dailey wrote:Is there a water supply if one brings a filter?

As of this past weekend there was still water from a snowpatch at the Lower Saddle, but it may be gone soon. Check with the rangers at Jenny Lake. I didn't use a filter the last couple of times I was up at the Lower Saddle and haven't had problems (it helps that Wag Bags are now required for anyone camping up there). There's plenty of water down in the Meadows, but you should probably use a filter there.

I was just there this past weekend for the Complete Exum; I camped up in moraine camp for the weekend. We were blessed with pristine weather for our summit, which was good since the Complete took us a while due to crowds. Route-finding was definitely an issue for us--there were times where the trail involved some boulder-hopping, and it was easy to get off route during those times (we accidentally wound up at the Jackson Hole Mountain Guide High camp at one point). But there are so many parties on the upper exum, you can just follow the train up.

Personally, I thought the descent was more challenging than the climb; definitely make sure to stay west coming off the ridge from the Upper to the Lower saddle. We also got hit with rockfall on the fixed lines on the descent (nearly got clobbered with a watermelon sized rock! I'm still shaking from that) so be alert.

Overall, it's very doable as a one long day, especially if you're a party of two and go light and start before dawn. There are multiple water sources on the hike up; when you hit the lower saddle after going up the fixed lines, head left towards a sign near a stream and you'll see where the Exum guides have placed a tube for water. I filtered it, but I'm not sure you really need to. There was no snow or ice on the route.

After I got back, I found this website: wyomingwhiskey.net that has nice maps and a go-pro video of the upper to lower descent, along with wyomingwhiskey.org (I don't know if they're related) that shows current conditions. If that's too much beta for you, then ignore them, but I wish I had watched them beforehand.

Oh, and I don't think it's too late to get a permit--just go to the Jenny Lake Ranger station and ask for what's available. They only reserve about 1/4 of the campsites beforehand; the rest are first come first serve. We didn't have a problem getting one for the weekend--there are lots of backcountry camps up and down the trail. Try to get the Caves or the Lower Saddle because they have bear boxes (otherwise you have to take a bear canister). People tend to line up at the Ranger station at 8am for a campsite, but we didn't have a problem going there in the afternoon. Lastly, I would try to stay at the American Alpine Climbers Ranch--you can actually hike in from there instead of going to Lupine meadows AND you can get a shower after you're done!

Also, Keep in mind that the walk in permits they give out are for the NEXT day, apparently you can't get a permit for the same night.

EricV wrote:Also, Keep in mind that the walk in permits they give out are for the NEXT day, apparently you can't get a permit for the same night.

It's the other way around. They'll issue next-day walk-in permits, but not further ahead than that. They'll issue same-day permits if they have spaces left.

Does it have to be the Grand by the way? Mt Owen is in many ways a better option unless you have some sort of bee in your bonnet about tagging the high point of the range. A camp at Ampitheater lake is not as much of a hump as the Lower Saddle and is all on a trail with no routefinding issues, a more alpine environment on the climb with the Teton Glacier to cross, a tricky move or two on the summit knob, fabulous views of the North Face of the Grand, and, I would expect, far fewer parties clogging the route.

However, there is a caveat: ideally, you want the Koven Couloir to be snow-covered bottom to top. When the snow melts out, there is substantial rockfall danger. When I did the East Ridge route years ago, we climbed wet slabs left of the Koven Couloir with little difficulty. Check the MP comment section on the Koven Route for more insights and try to get local up to date information on the state of the route.

rgold wrote:ideally, you want the Koven Couloir to be snow-covered bottom to top. When the snow melts out, there is substantial rockfall danger.

We passed that way when we did the Teton traverse a couple of days ago. There's snow at the Koven Col, but it's partly melted out lower down in the couloir.

I've done the OS in 1 day with 6 guys in the group... Made for a slow moving team! Got stuck waiting for other teams constantly... Got hit by rockfall... Ect.. Ect.. I'd camp at the moraines if I were to do it again, or possibly the meadows. Just too rushed trying to find the route, avoid rockfall constantly, and waiting for slow climbers in front of you.
Oh and I'd definitely recommend simu-climbing the roped parts if you know how, bring 4 or 5 4ft slings as there are plenty of boulders you can throw one around as pro...

What is considered late season to summit in GTNP?
What would one expect this year?
I have two buddies that summited the Grand yesterday.
Now I have the bug.

Br'er Rabbit wrote:What is considered late season to summit in GTNP?

It's hit or miss once you get into September. It could be really nice, or you could get an early cold front that covers everything in ice and snow. The Climbers Ranch and the commercial guide services pack up in early/mid September.

What about the North Ridge in a day?

North Ridge in a day all depends on conditions. There is always the dilemma via the Saddle and Vahalla traverse, via Surprise Lake and Teton Glacier, or via Vahalla Canyon. I have done all three (not in a day for the N. Ridge) and liked via Surprise Lake and Teton Glacier. More alpine. We did that for a day trip on N. Face.

In order for the North Ridge to be climbable, is it more based on the mildness of the previous winter, or is it more based on the warmness of the last couple of weeks that may be thawing the ice?

P.S. I would probably lean towards the Valhalla Traverse just because it's so much faster.

Yes ... depends on the winter, spring, and summer conditions. For instance, in dry conditions going via the Lower Saddle / Valhalla Traverse can be a cruise. During a normal winter.spring, summer, going that way may involve a lot of snow and ice. As for ridge itself. The chimney sections can be drippy. Doing the Italian Cracks gets you out of them but then one does miss some classic sections that one should do at least once.