Popular Stories
Words by Michael Sudmeier
The Tetons are loaded with classic ski descents. It’s one thing to survive these lines—it’s another to destroy them. This, however, is exactly what Griffin Post did when he recently terrorized the Middle Teton. After a seven-hour push to its summit, he laid down a line rich with style and worthy of reverence.
Post was led by Exum Guides Nat Patridge and Zahan Billimoria and accompanied by a team of filmers and photographers shooting for TGR’s Way of Life. With a 2:00 a.m. start, the crew spent the first few hours of its journey navigating by headlamps and moonlight. “Our route led us up the South Fork of Garnet Canyon to the saddle between the Middle and South Teton, which was a seven mile approach with about 5,000 feet of gain with skins,” explained Patridge.
As the sun rose, Griffin Post neared the end of the first leg of his journey: skinning 5,000 vertical feet. (Photo compliments of Zahan Billimoria)
From there, the crew traveled up the Southwest Couloir on the Middle Teton, using ice axes and crampons to climb nearly 1,000 vertical feet. En route to the summit, the group navigated terrain steeper than forty degrees and peppered with rocks and exposure. Adding to the challenge, a spring storm had just hit the Tetons. But unfortunately, this storm failed to leave an abundance of powder. “Despite receiving over ten inches of new snow the day before, the slick surfaces [of the Tetons] resulted in very little new snow up high,” Billimoria said. “The route was clean but very firm.”
Billimoria and Patridge closely studied the snowpack throughout the ascent, as well as in advance of it. While using automated plots to monitor the snow depth, their concerns for the ascent began to shift. “It became evident that the snow was settling very rapidly,” noted Billimoria. “Instead of dealing with slab avalanches, we started to turn our attention to whether the surface would be too firm. What we found on the route matched that reality—there was little avalanche hazard, but a high hazard in case of a fall.”
While Post and his crew headed up the Middle Teton, a team of filmers--including Chris Kitchen and Pat Mc Dermott--headed up Disappointment Peak to capture the "barbi" angle for Post's descent. (Photo compliments of Greg Von Doersten)
Throughout the ascent, Post also kept busy trying to avoid thinking about the line he had yet to lay down. “Seven hours is a lot of time to think about one run—so I tried not to worry too much about the descent,” he explained. “I tried to laugh it off as best as I could. I was the only athlete—I think a lot of people would have been pissed off at me should I have crashed.” Although Post was concerned about letting the crew down in the event of a fall, everyone else was simply worried about his ability to survive one. After all, explains photographer Greg Von Doersten, “the top of the Middle Teton is an exposed no fall zone checking in at over fifty degrees.”
Roped-in, Post and Billimoria paused to ready for the descent. (Photo compliments of Zahan Billimoria)
As is often the case, the same things that made the Middle Teton so challenging also made it so appealing. “When people think of Grand Teton [National Park], they immediately think of the Grand and Bill Briggs’ classic ski descent—which is awesome for sure,” Post explains. “The Middle Teton, however, offers more of a classic big mountain ski descent—it’s more of a full throttle line 2,500 feet down to the drainage below.”
The view from Disappointment Peak revealed that Post's line was more than a walk in the park. (Photo compliments of Greg Von Doersten)
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According to Billimoria, the east face of the Middle Teton provided the perfect canvas for Post. “I’ve known Griffin and skied with him for a few years so I have a sense of his style. He’s a super aggressive fall line skier,” offered Billimoria. “I wanted to line him out on a face that matched his skill set—not a tight couloir but rather a wide-open face where he could open the throttle.” And that’s exactly what Post did.
“He dropped in off the notch at full tilt and opened it up like a downhill course, bending his ski like he was ripping fresh tracks on the corduroy—only this was a fifty-five degree face with huge exposure,” explained Billimoria. “After two turns, he committed to the blind rollover just above the col—a mistake there would have been entirely unforgiving. Griffin took the center line—aired the cliff and just GS’ed it down into to the canyon.”
Before dropping the Middle Teton, Post and his crew got had the opportunity to contemplate their sanity. Here, Billimoria provides a glimpse of the line. (Photo compliments of Zahan Billimoria)
For everyone watching Post, the cliff—and the firm landing that accompanied it—served as the crux of the descent. “Everyone held their breath during this because it was a big move and a must-land situation,” filmer Chris Kitchen revealed. “Otherwise, he would have been tomahawking thousands of feet to the basin.” Nonetheless, the entire line was worthy of recognition. “Griffin skied the East Face of the Middle in a way I have not witnessed before in the Tetons,” offered Patridge. “Only heli guiding in Valdez have I seen someone rip the big mountains like Griffin did.”
Despite the seven-hour approach, Post skied the line in a matter of seconds. “Once Griffin got the notch, he pretty much sent that line like I’ve never seen anybody ski it before. It was a whole other level of athleticism to watch him ski that face in forty-five to fifty seconds,” explained Von Doersten. “It takes a skill level very few ski mountaineers possess to ski a line like Griff did.”
Mid-descent, Post was dwarfed by the Middle Teton. (Photo compliments of Greg Von Doersten)
Although Post’s mission to the Middle Teton will be remembered for the descent, the crew was quick to emphasize that it should not overshadow everything that led up to it. “With a line like the Middle, it’s about much more than just the skiing,” explained filmer Sam Pope. “We had been up since 1:00 a.m. and hiked 6,000 vertical feet in just over seven miles. It’s a huge ascent and most people are pretty wasted by the time they get to the summit, but for Griffin his work didn’t even start until he was at the top.”
The approach, however, did nothing to phase Post. “Griffin skied a line with confidence and speed that most people make jump turns down,” noted Pope. “But that’s what makes him a pro.” Billimoria was quick to agree. “My guess is that the Middle Teton has never seen a descent like that,” he explained. “It was as impressive a performance as I think the high peaks have ever seen.”
