Grand Teton Itinerary

Keep in mind that these are all projected times. Please check in with BCM or the guides before the trip to confirm meeting times.

Day Zero (July 28, 2016): Flights/travel to Jackson Hole, WY Prior to the first day of the trip please stop by the Jackson Hole Mountain Guides office for an equipment check and final registration. See TRAVEL for detailed driving instructions to our office in downtown Jackson.

Day One (Approach to Corbet High Camp):

Seven miles and 4,200 feet of moderate and steep hiking to our well-stocked High Camp.

9:00 am – Meet at the Jackson Hole Mountain Guides office and depart for Lupine Meadows Trailhead in Grand Teton National Park. A park entrance pass is required. Each participant will be required to provide their own transportation to/from the trailhead—JHMG does not provide taxi services.

10:00 am – We depart Lupine Meadows Trailhead (6,780 feet) for Corbet High Camp (11,000 feet). You’ll only need to carry your personal clothing, food, and water. Our high camp is stocked with 3-person Mountain Hardwear tents, Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20 degree sleeping bags, comfortable dual foam pads, propane stoves, and all the requisite climbing gear. Even without a heavy pack, everyone should be physically fit for the Grand Teton. We generally take short breaks every hour and encourage everyone to eat and drink to sustain their energy. This long hike requires excellent fitness-please be prepared. We arrive at the Meadows (9,000 feet) in time for our favorite lunch spot in the mountains. After lunch, switchbacks lead up the North Fork of Garnet Canyon. A spring at the Petzoldt Caves (9,600 feet) provides cool and refreshing drinking water and allows us to replenish our water bottles. Steep hiking into a beautiful alpine arena leads to camp. After six hours on the trail, our secluded high camp is the great reward. Located on a high glacial moraine just below the East face of the Grand and below the Teepe Glacier, it is one of the most beautiful camps in the Tetons. Melt- water from the glacier filters through the moraine and yields another refreshing spring below our Weatherport hut. The spacious hut serves as a kitchen, meeting place, and dining hall. Behind large boulders and just over the ridge are three-person Sierra Designs tents that serve as your home. Generally, two or three people share a spacious tent and sometimes we are able to offer private accommodations. Dinner is prepared by the guides. This evening, you recover, relax, and enjoy a very special place in the mountains.

Day Two (Training: Rock Climbing on the Garnet Towers): The second day is devoted to making everyone comfortable and proficient with technical rock climbing. After breakfast, we head out to the nearby Garnet Towers to train for the Grand. You learn by doing. Each technique is first demonstrated and then practiced. We learn and review: knots, harnesses and helmets; belaying, rappelling and multi-pitch climbing systems; movement over rock, efficient ascent and descend methods. Experienced climbers may progress more quickly and learn advanced skills.

Everyone completes at least one multi-pitch climb and rappel. We often climb All Along the Watchtower (5.4) or the first two pitches of Fairshare Tower.

We return to camp for dinner and preparations. You organize your equipment, fill your water bottles, and pack for the next morning.

Day Three (Summit Day): An alpine start increases the odds of avoiding afternoon thunderstorms and maximizes our summit chances. We depart camp well before dawn, wearing headlamps to guide our way toward the upper mountain. We typically travel on a less crowded variation of the Owen-Spalding route and limit three climbers per guide. The day includes 2700 feet of elevation gain, loads of great scrambling, three easy fifth-class pitches, and an exciting rappel from high on the mountain. We aim to summit around 9 am and return to Lupine Meadows trailhead by 6 pm. We utilize the Pownall-Gilkey route, named after the 1948 first ascent team. From Corbet High Camp (11,000 feet) a hike through the moraine and an ascent of a 50-foot fixed rope brings us the Lower Saddle (11,600 feet). A windy hike to the Black Dike takes us to the beginning of the climbing. Warm early morning light illuminates the next 1000 feet of second- and third-class scrambling to the Upper Saddle (13,000 feet). It is here that we diverge from the Owen-Spalding and ascend via the Pownall-Gilkey (5.6 A0), an aesthetic route on perfect granite. The summit is not far away! We don all of our clothing, stack ropes, and tie-in for the technical fifth-class climbing. With the last two hundred feet to the summit we choose between the fourth-class climbing on Unsoeld’s Layback or up Sargent’s Chimney.

The summit views offer a spectacular vista of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. On clear days we can see 14 different mountain ranges in 4 states. You’ve climbed over 7,000 feet to the summit of the Grand Teton. The descent from the upper mountain involves a spectacular rappel and considerable down climbing. Typically, climbers return to the trailhead around 6 p.m.

*Please note that the weather on the Grand is highly unpredictable and can be severe. High winds, cold, snow, rain, thunder and lightning can occur on any day. If weather threatens, we tag the top and head down immediately. Your guide will determine the schedule. If threatening weather or other unforeseen circumstances makes an attempt on the Grand Teton impractical, the guide may suggest a climb of the Enclosure (13,280′) as a consolation. The Enclosure is the second highest point in the Teton Range and sits as a detached spur of the Grand itself.

Travel and accommodations are not included. Each climber is responsible for their own travel reservations and the costs involved.

Travel Insurance: We strongly encourage everyone to purchase travel insurance which covers trip cancellation, interruption, delay, baggage loss or delay, medical expenses, medical evacuation and repatriation. Travel insurance offers the best possible protection if you have a sudden, unexpected illness or injury prior to or when traveling. Check with the insurance provider for specific coverage details including adventure/sports coverage. Additional cancellation coverage may be available if purchased within 14 days of making your trip deposit. However, trip insurance can be purchased at any time prior to the start of your climb. For more information please visit one of the websites below, or contact your local travel agent.  Travel Guard  Travelex Insurance

Arrival and Departure Dates: It is helpful to arrive a couple of days prior to your climb in order to acclimatize. Otherwise, you should arrive the day before and stop by our office before 5 pm for an equipment check. Do not plan on traveling the day after the summit climb-you will be tired and there are no guarantees when we will return to the trailhead.

Meeting time and place: 9:00 am– Meet at the Jackson Hole Mountain Guides office (see directions below). Please keep in mind that this is a projected time. Please check in with BCM or the guides before the trip to confirm meeting times.

Air Travel: In the summer there are regular flights to Jackson Hole from Denver, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Minneapolis. We suggest making your reservation as soon as possible. If flights are sold out or too expensive, your options include flying into Idaho Falls, Salt Lake City, Bozeman, or Cody and renting a car. Idaho Falls is the closest option, just two hours away. Otherwise, Salt Lake City, Bozeman, and Cody are all about a five- hour drive from Jackson.

Also, the Salt Lake Express (800) 356-9796 provides daily shuttle service from Salt Lake City and Idaho Falls.

Local transportation: Please plan on providing your own transportation, including to and from the trailhead. Car rental, bus and taxi services are available.

Office Location and Directions: Jackson Hole Mountain Guides is located in the Smith’s shopping plaza at the south end of town. Our phone number is (800) 239-7642. From the airport, (north of town) drive south on Highway 89. Follow Highway 89 through Jackson. You’ll take a right at the lights at the town square with antler arches and from this point stay on Hwy 89 (Broadway) for another 2.5 miles approximately. Turn into the Smith’s parking lot on your right. We are in the offices on the north side of the parking lot.

From south of town, drive north on Highway 89. When you reach the first stoplights, which are at High School Rd., take a left and then an immediate right to enter the Smith’s parking lot. We are located in the offices on the north side of the parking lot.

Accommodations: Plan on having accommodations for the night prior to and the night you return from your climb. There are a plethora of hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts in Jackson and the surrounding area. It is highly advisable to make reservations as early as possible. Jackson Hole is quite busy throughout the summer and holiday periods are often sold out.

For all Jackson lodging information, we suggest Jackson Hole Central Reservations at www.jacksonholewy.com (800-443-6931) and www.jacksonhole.net.

Camping: In Grand Teton National Park there are many campgrounds available on a first-come, first-served basis. The Gros Ventre Campground, with 360 sites, is the least likely to fill up and the most convenient, located between Jackson and Moose on the Gros Ventre River. Call 307-739-3300 for more information on lodging and camping options inside the park.

The American Alpine Club’s Grand Teton Climbers Ranch, located near Lupine Meadows in Grand Teton National Park, is an excellent and affordable crash. It has bunkhouses, community eating areas, shared bathrooms and costs $10/person/night for AAC members, $20 for non-members. Read more at the American Alpine Club website, or, in the summer season call 307-733-7271.

The Bridger-Teton National Forest also has camping; Curtis Canyon, only seven miles from downtown Jackson, is convenient and beautiful but only has 11 sites. Cost is $12/site. Should the campground be full, free undeveloped camping is available further up the Curtis Canyon road for one or two night stays. There are other National Forest campgrounds northeast of Kelly, including Atherton, Red Hills, and Crystal Creek, all of which have 5-20 sites and charge $10-$12/night.

In addition to these public campgrounds, there are a few privately owned campgrounds, including Wagon Wheel Village near our office. Campers can obtain showers at the Jackson Recreation Center, which is open until 9pm, 7pm Sundays. Entry fee is $6.25 for adults.

Valuables: You can leave your valuables locked in the office during the trip.

Parking: Vehicles not needed for transport into the Park may be parked at the JHMG office in the Smiths’ shopping center for the duration of your climb. Vehicles taken into the Park may be left overnight at the Lupine Meadows trailhead parking lot.

Weather: Our local meteorologist, Jim Woodmency, has the best handle: Please see MountainWeather.com

NOTE: It may be possible for climbers to rent a car together or share hotel rooms. If interested, please contact your SFS climb coordinator before the climb to help facilitate this process.