An entire year has passed since Adam and I first made the drive out to Jackson, Wyoming. We have been through a lot since then - traveling all over the country, meeting new people, and climbing new rock, but have once again found ourselves back in Jackson and it sure feels good! We haven't wasted any time getting started on our "to-climb" list either (hence the lack of posts lately)...so let me fill you in!

The Grand Teton Climber's Ranch is a collection of rustic cabins run by the American Alpine Club, located in the park right at the base of the mountains. It is open during the summer season for climbers and their families to stay while adventuring in the park. Every year, the week before they open for the season, a group of volunteers help fix up the ranch and get it ready for the public (Work Week). Last year Adam had a great experience volunteering for Work Week, so this year we both decided to do it together. Many of the volunteers have been coming for years to help out and are well seasoned climbers. (One man celebrated his 80th birthday during Work Week this year!) In exchange for our work, they provide us with a large lunch everyday that week and we are invited to stay at the ranch for the entire month of June for free.

2013 Work Week volunteers 

This year there were so many volunteers (and we were such efficient workers) that they started running out of work for us to do, so they gave us Wednesday morning off. Of course, at the climber's ranch, time off doesn't mean rest and relaxation - it means climbing mountains! So Adam, myself, and Sean - a fellow volunteer - decided we were going to climb Teewinot (12,325 ft) via the East Face, Wednesday morning before we had to work that afternoon. We woke up at 2:00 AM, ate breakfast, and drove to the Lupine Meadows trailhead, where we began hiking at 3:00 AM.

We followed the trail upward, only stopping just below tree-line to put on crampons and get out our ice axes. From this point on it would be entirely snow to the summit and a straight shot upward (5,600 ft elevation gain), making the terrain we would travel over extremely steep.

Soon our surroundings were lighting up with alpenglow and we watched a flaming orange sunrise reflected in Jenny Lake. We could finally put away our headlamps and started to warm up in the presence of the sun (did I mention it was 30 degrees out when we started?).

Adam and myself on the way up the steep East Face of Teewinot at sunrise. (Photo by: Sean)

We had gotten lucky with weather - it was nothing but blue skies as far as the eye could see and no wind. It wasn't until we reached the top of the summit shoulder that the wind came whipping from the west, and we were forced to bundle back up for our time on the summit. 

At around 7:00 AM we topped out on Teewinot. The summit is so small and pointed, only one person can actually stand on it at a time. After taking a picture of each person on the summit we retreated down out of the wind and started our descent. By this time the sun had been beating on the snow and it had gone from firm to complete snow cone consistency (which does not make descending easy). Some of the ice we had climbed up had melted out by the time we were trying to get back down, so we had to find alternate ways around (scrambling down exposed rock). Due to the poor conditions it was slow going and getting down actually took longer than getting up the mountain (which is rare). 

We made it back to the ranch around 12:30 PM and they had veggie burgers, salad, mac & cheese, and cookies waiting for us! (Yes, they rock!) We stuffed ourselves with food. Everyone wanted to hear about our adventure and congratulated us on our successful summit. There wasn't much work to be done so they told us to rest up from our long climb, which is exactly what we did - we fell asleep in the back of the van within minutes.  

Since Work Week has ended we have climbed a 6 pitch trad route called Guide's Wall in Cascade Canyon twice - the first time Adam lead the route and the second time I am proud to say I lead the route. We also made a trip up to the Lower Saddle, where Adam attempted to ski down (the snow conditions were awful) and I glissaded. 

Now that work has started up for us we will have to limit our adventures to days off, but we have big plans in store for the rest of the summer!