Rockfall changes world-famous Teton skyline forever

Teton Rockfall

The summit of the Second Tower is rarely visited by mountaineers. During the first ascent of the East Ridge by Robert Underhill and Kenneth Henderson in 1929, the climbers bypassed the obstacle.

Horton, a self-professed peak-bagger and prolific explorer, has climbed to the top of the feature. He reckons a mass of rock more than 100 feet high exfoliated from the west side of the tower, leaving the top precariously hanging over space.

“I’m not going back,” Horton said.

Climbing altered?

Guidebook author Jackson recently sent the latest edition of “A Climber’s Guide to the Teton Range” to the printers with some warnings regarding the changing nature of the range. “I felt I had to give a heads-up to people that these are the routes that might be affected,” he said.

I was up there in the 90s.  The traverse below the Second Tower really makes you realize you're on an alpine route, going from the sunny east side to the snowy north face, daintily negotiating the snow patches in rock shoes while looking down the North Face (and Hossack-McGowan?) .  After the traverse, and directly underneath where the cliff collapsed, is where you transition from rock shoes to crampons for the ascent up the east face snowfield.  I then realized how crappy BD Switchblades were for mountaineering.  Really fun route, though.

Skibo wrote:

I was up there in the 90s.  The traverse below the Second Tower really makes you realize you're on an alpine route, going from the sunny east side to the snowy north face, daintily negotiating the snow patches in rock shoes while looking down the North Face (and Hossack-McGowan?) .  After the traverse, and directly underneath where the cliff collapsed, is where you transition from rock shoes to crampons for the ascent up the east face snowfield.  I then realized how crappy BD Switchblades were for mountaineering.  Really fun route, though.

Off the beaten path as well -- I love Teton's routes away from the crowds!

Robert Meshew wrote:

Off the beaten path as well -- I love Teton's routes away from the crowds!

We did some fun obscure ones--Hidden Couloir on Thor, North Couloir on Buck, Fryxell Route on Owen.  No crowds on any of them.