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Trip: The Tetons! - Complete Exum, CMC, Teewinot Trip Date: 07/21/2021 Trip Report: I broke my thumb last weekend mountain biking with my boys, so I may as well add a TR to the database while I wait to meet with a surgeon. Keep your wheels on the ground people, and don't believe your kids if they say "Don't think Dad, just send it!" But I digress from the telling of the 2021 summer climbing road trip to the Tetons.... Frequent visitors to this site will know that I have been going on week long climbing trips with @Trent for about 15 years. The last few years our friends John and @cfire have joined us, and last year was no exception. John has a sweet van and so we piled in for the loooooong drive to Jackson Hole, stopping for some free roadside camping along the Snake enroute: The next day we finished the drive and sussed out the permit situation in the park that week (not bad for walk-ups, much better than NCNP in high summer). We had car camping reservations in the park for those days that we weren't on the mountain, which helped to limit the shenanigans before and after climbs. We just got those from people dropping out the week before on recreation.gov. Then it was to bed early for a proper alpine start for the classic scramble route on Teewinot. And what a great route! Direct, solid, and scenic- we were beginning to see why the Tetons were so hyped. And also surprisingly quiet. I think we only saw two other parties all day. For how jammed the roads are in the park, the climbing crowds are pretty mellow. I would highly recommend the Tweewinot scramble as a good warm up/ acclimatization for early in the trip: And then it was back to the van, after locating a couple canoes for the next day's approach to Mount Moran's CMC route. This route was a first for me, since I had never used a canoe to approach a mountain, nor even portaged once in my life. And the CMC camp was really in a great spot, with airplane wing views across the Jackson environs. Just don't expect it to be a casual 5.6 route, we were pleasantly surprised by the challenging route finding and scrambling. As with many Cascades routes, the crux isn't always when you have the rope on. Oh, and we had the mountain and camp to ourselves, in July! The Grand: The dramatic East and West Horns on Moran: one of the best 5.6 pitches anywhere, high on the CMC: The Beast that is Moran. CMC right up the middle: And then we took a rest day in some dispersed camping outside the park, preparing for the main event- The Complete Exum on the Grand Teton. I was a little nervous with actual climbing at altitude, but I had the three rope guns of @Trent, @cfire, and John do do the heavy lifting. I just needed to make sure that I didn't miss the shot. We opted for the civilized approach of hiking to the Lower Saddle on day 1 (upper saddle was full), then an alpine start to climb and descend on day 2. We saw more people in these two days, but it was still pretty chill and totally reasonable once on route. And what a route! It is absolutely classic start to finish and deserving of it's "50 Classics" status. Completely solid, long, with a great position and straightforward descent. I won't be able to add anything that hasn't already been said of the route (plus, broken thumb, remember?) and so I will leave it to the photos..... I have no idea: Descent via impressive rap down O-S route: Which way? The end. Thanks much to @Trent, @cfire, and John-the older I get the more I value my climbing partners. The mountains are just an excuse to spend time with these solid dudes! Gear Notes: Approach shoes and climbing gear. Not much snow or ice to get to these routes in high summer Approach Notes: Follow the masses

Trip: Mount Torment - Moraine Lake Couloir, NW Glacier Trip Date: 04/16/2022 Trip Report: Me and the boys (@Albuquerque Fred, @thedylan, @MGraw) had a great time in the sun for the chilly weekend of April 16-17 on Mount Torment. We skied the Moraine Lake Couloir and most of the NW Glacier on Mount Torment. We were able to drive to .5 miles past the gate at the park boundary on Cascade River Road before we hit snow. We booted for about a half mile past that, then skinned to the Eldorado Trailhead. We again booted to the boulderfield at 4k as per usual, then we skinned up, crossing the ridge into Torment Basin, and to Torment Col (west of Torment). The skiing down from there was good but I was too interested in what was to come to really think much about it. The plan was to climb Torment, then ski the couloir to Moraine Lake and camp. When we got to the entrance to the couloir though the exit onto the glacier looked tough. Dylan gamely started to lead with only pickets for pro, 1 aluminum axe, and aluminum crampons, plus skis and overnight gear on his back. Just out of the belay we realized we would never have time to climb all this and make camp at a reasonable hour so Mike suggested a new plan , we would fix the line and finish the route tomorrow. Dylan got the rope up, rapped, and we skied the AMAZING couloir down to the lake. As in most features like this, the snow being good wasn't the most important part. The setting, the purity of the line, the adventure was made it rock. But the skiing was also good. Making camp at like 4pm in April was full on cushy, plenty of time to build a monster wall around the tent, drink whisky, and lounge. The next morning we booted the couloir, climbed the fixed line, and ascended the NW Glacier on Torment. We had limited beta on this but Tom Sjolseth's report said "we skinned to within 50' of the summit", easy right. Well, not so much. We ran into another short rock step, which, though easy would involve another two transitions to get past. We figured it would be after 10pm by the time we got to the car, so we bailed at 7300'. The ski was epic. Top 5 ski runs ever for sure. We will be back for the summit. The crew: Thanks for the shot Mike: Dylan scouted the scary roll over: Dylan rapping after the lead: I'm sure Fred didn't just fall: Mike and Dylan working the lower couloir: The whole thing: Dylan slays it, even in camp: If you have to boot it might as well be into the sunshine: Mike following the fixed rope: Topping out: This sucked: We should have lapped this one. Classic Cascdes: Gear Notes: 1 axe, crampons, glacier gear, avy gear, camping gear. not enough. Approach Notes: Eldo worked well, I've done Torment Basin and didn't want to do it with skis on my back.

It may have been possible to skin through the step but it didn't look probable. I suspect the step is a victim of glacial recession. Here is May 2011 when Tom was there: And April 2022: