20 Hours Car to Car | The Grand Teton Story | Owen Spalding Route
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ค. 2024
- When 3 friends attempt to climb the infamous Grand Teton (13,775 ft), prepared as best they could, made a slew of mistakes and poor decisions. It lead them to climb ice covered routes without crampons, going without water for 6 hours, a fall that could have been fatal, and taking a total of 20 hours to complete. The group, experienced both in the mountains and rock climbing, were no match for how daunting the climb up to the summit of The Grand was going to be. This was one of those pure Type II fun days, where they learned (and earned) more than they bargained for.
This climb took place in 2019, but due to the embarrassment of all of the poor decisions made, I chose to not publish the film. But older, wiser, I realize these are only mistakes if nothing is learned. I wanted to share this film I made to show what not to do while on this route, but also this is still one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.
Since then, I've attempted The Grand one more time, with my wife, but got turned around on the Upper Saddle due to fresh snow that was bogging us down. I hope the lessons learned in this film will not only aid in others climbing, but hopefully to inspire others to attempt their own version of "The Grand."
For more information, check out my blog: www.zacharykenney.com/ - บันเทิง
I was at Grand Teton last September. Amazing. I want to climb this!
I cannot recommend it enough! Still one of the most incredible days in the mountains I’ve ever had!
The Exum Guides DO take clients up the Owen Spalding, FYI
Awesome video - very well put together. Makes me want to make the trek… after a good amount of training
Thank you!! And hope you do make the trek one day!
dope vid bud we had an incredible experience on this route as well we got lost af and thought we were gonna die.
Damn! I can definitely see how that could happen! How long were you guys out there for?
it seemed like an eternity i dont know. we got lost trying to find trail from the boulder field@@ZacharyKenney8
what a crazy video hahah
What was the date/month of the climb? I'm curious to what time of year you do this.
I think it was late July in 2019.
What month did you climb? My buddy and I are trying to climb it this September 11th
We climbed it in July! September can be a great time to climb, usually pretty dry and still warm. Like any high alpine fun, you do run into separate risks. The later you go, the less likely there will be flowing water on the trail to refill (not the end of the world). But the worst thing that can happen is the early season snowfall. Leaves a snow up there too little for ice axes and crampons, but too much for comfortable climbing with just boots. Bit me on a trip in 2021.
Thank you for the insight!
What are your thoughts on free soloing it? I got stuck in early july 2023 between the lower and upper saddle due to ice and snow and want to give it another shot in Sept 2023. Despite failing, it was 16 miles and 6,300 feet in one day. Brutal. Is the upper saddle and the various chimneys possible without ropes? Keep in mind, I'm flexible, young and fairly strong.
Soloing is absolutely a viable option, when there isn’t the high risk from snow and ice. Everything on the route is manageable, when dry. The only downside is that you’ll have to downclimb the double chimney, belly roll, and crawl. All doable, but might pose an issue if there are a lot of parties on the route coming up. Be safe, have fun! Good luck, might see you up there in September as well with my wife.
Soloing is absolutely a viable option, when there isn’t the high risk from snow and ice. Everything on the route is manageable, when dry. The only downside is that you’ll have to downclimb the double chimney, belly roll, and crawl. All doable, but might pose an issue if there are a lot of parties on the route coming up. Be safe, have fun! Good luck, might see you up there in September as well with my wife.
@@ZacharyKenney8 Thanks for the advice, hopefully we cross paths !
Mid-late August is the time to free solo the Grand if that's a goal you have. It takes a long time for the snow and ice to melt in the OS, and the window where it's relatively ice-free might be only a couple days(this year for example, the only days where it was truly ice-free were 8/26-8/27). The Exum ridge is generally drier as it is south-facing and get more sun.