August Turns in the Tetons

[eagleskier]

August 1, 2014: I’m 12,000 feet up on the Grand Teton at the head of the Teepee Glacier. This has been a good workout for my 55 yr. old legs and I’d like to take a little break and enjoy the scenery before hitting the glacier for my August turns. However, I barely am there long enough to catch my breath and to my left out of the couloir that connects up to the Otter Body snow fields comes some small rocks zinging out onto the glacier less than 100 feet away. (I’m fully aware of the risks here and have noted the evidence as I climbed the glacier, but this just reinforces the need to get my butt going)!

The snow is soft, but firm and as seen in the accompanying video, it is not really “pretty”. Tons of rocks, runnels and that dirty reddish stuff that always shows up on late summer snow. But this for me is fun.

I ski the upper / steeper part of the Teepee, and then transition over to the Dike Couloir. This requires a short downclimb through some loose rocks before we hit snow again. My climb and skiing on the Teepee was a solo adventure, but at the col I meet up with two local guys, (Eric and Ryan). We introduce ourselves and decide to downclimb/ski the Dike Couloir as a group. These guys are pretty cool and seem willing to let this old guy participate in their fun for the day. We have some good conversation, (mainly about ACL’s), as we downclimb.

We decide on slightly different starting zones, and I go first. I want to ski the entire couloir top to bottom non-stop, but the old quads scream at me loud enough that I need a couple of quick stops along the way. Eric and Ryan follow and we are all pretty stoked about the run. The snow was better in the couloir and it provides over 1,000 vertical of sweet August turns.

Again, I want to relax and take in the scenery and the moment, but as I’m half way through my PBJ, suddenly the skies start to get a little darker and I hear a clap of thunder on the west side of the range. That gets me in turbo-mode. I chuck the sandwich back in the pack, part ways with Eric and Ryan and head for the worst part of the whole journey, the scramble down the boulder fields and around Delta Lake. Once at the east end of the lake, a climbers trail emerges and it is a fast paced trip back to the Lupine Meadows Trail Head via Delta Lake trail to Amphitheater Lake trail and then the main Garnett Canyon trail. (No real close calls with lightning, but I do get soaked on the last mile).

This has been a great adventure for me; 5K+ climb, 12+ miles, 2K vertical skiing and meeting a couple of guys who call these amazing mountains home!

Here are the pics and video of the adventure. (For those who may be interested, this link to my website has additional perspectives, Google Earth views of the route and a downloadable copy of the GPS data on the route, (gpx format). Hi-Adventure Teepee and Dike Couloir Adventure.

Video highlights of the glacier climb, the downclimb into the Dike Couloir and the skiing.


Sunrise on the Garnett Canyon trail.



First views of Garnett Canyon - this is one of my favorite views, this canyon is just so awe inspiring.


If you look closely, (or if my smartphone took clearer pictures), you can see the two climbers on the snow in the Meadows. Getting crampons on for the climb up the SW Couloir of the Middle.


A look at the Cave Couloir. Hopefully this will hold snow for one more month and I'll hit it for September.


Here are a couple of selfies in the Dike Couloir at the top of the snow field.



This is Delta Lake with the Grand Teton and the route skied as the backdrop.


I was back on the climbers trail after the boulder scramble and bushwhack around Delta Lake. I thought I was "home free", then I had this huge log to crawl under and drag my gear through.


Back at the trail head - soaked, but stoked from the fun times!

[AmmergauerTele]

Age 55…..Way to get after it.

[_Aaron_]

Whoop whoop!

[Grape_Ape]

Well done!

[WaistDeepGroomers]

ya boss!

[lynchdogger]

Well done sir!

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