Middle Teton Climb, Wyoming

OK, so I'm only about a week behind updating my blog. Much of the time my evenings have been out of i-range, and other times I was too tired or otherwise busy... so there! Beth and I have been in Napa Valley since Saturday the 29th, for a few days of stay-in-one-place r&r, and we're enjoying the hospitality of the Beaumonts, the slow pace, and the fine weather.

But first, my little escapade on Middle Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

In July I climbed Grand Teton and Mount Teewinot. I contracted a good case of Teton Fever, the only known cure for which is to climb Mount Owen, Middle Teton, and South Teton, thus completing the key peaks of this beautiful range. It is a beautiful, sharp, dramatic range of mountains, compact, endlessly photogenic, and with the pointy summits that confirm you're at the top of a real mountain. When I learned I'd have some, umm, spare time this fall I knew instantly where I would return.

From the left, South/Middle/Grand Teton, Mount Owen, Teewinot Mountain.

Long story short, my plan was to traverse all five peaks (and a couple smaller sub-peaks), repeating my July ascents of the Grand (a North Ridge route this time) and Teewinot in a three-day route called The Grand Traverse. A showy name, indeed, but it wasn't to be! A little snow, a little ice, some rain, guide-scheduling problems, and a guide coming up with a lame leg all conspired to keep me off most of the range, except for a glorious day climb up Middle Teton.

We had a pre-dawn start, blue-bird skies, and moderate temps. Part of what creates some of my climbing objectives is the opportunity to see other summits from my current summit, especially if I'm climbing several peaks adjacent to each other. Here are some summit views from Middle Teton of Mount Owen, Grand Teton, and Mount Teewinot.