Skiing the Stettner Couloir on June 20, 2001

Thanks to Brendan Burns for sharing these pics of an awesome climb and descent!

You can check out my earlier report here: http://scottymcski.blogspot.com/2011/06/grand-teton-skiboard-attempt.html

And watch a slide show/video from my camera here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eahnNTOzLoo



Climbing up to the Tepee Col

Clouds above and below...

Time to layer up!

Planning the descent route from the Tepee Col...

A look up into the Stettner


Above the first crux, the couloir was filled in...

...conditions were great, with dense, but dry, powder. Climbing was easier over on the left, where the new snow was shallower with crampons holding securely on the ice.

A small snow sluff came down only this once...

Cresting the second crux

Passing the final crux and ascending into the whiteout...

...after brief deliberation, we decided to descend, rather than climb further into whiteout, thinking it might be poor form if our tracks were to get blown in and we were to lose our line on the way down.
Time for some turns!

A long skinny way down

And out by the lovely Delta Lake

Thanks Patagonia,
Rossignol, 22 Designs, Leki, Crispi,
Smith Optics, Hestra, Osprey, Swix
Ski Trax, 32 Degrees, Shred-White-and-Blue,
Bill Briggs
and PSIA/AASI!

These photos are mostly in the 3 Mb range. Please let me know if you want to use them for other purposes.
Photos by Brendan Burns

Grand Teton August 21...

...with Mark and Paul, and fellow Exum Guide, Tyson Bradley, on the Owen-Spaulding route.

We had (litterally) stellar conditions: Mild temps, Light wind, and a quarter moon. We were treated to a lightning show some 40 miles to the south, but not a worry for us. Give it up for these two hardy mountaineers topping out on the Grand Teton yesterday!
Some highlights:

Paul finishes the Belly Roll, as the shadow of the Grand pops out over Idaho

Paul belays Tyson and Mark


The half moon over the Owen Chimney

The Enclosure with Grand shadows

Paul at the top of the Owen Chimney, with Mt. Moran in the background

Tyson and Mark start up the Owen Chimney with Valhalla Canyon joining Cascade Canyon far below

Mark at the crux of the Owen Chimney, with verglas showing up on all the best footholds (Doh!)



Mark, thankful for Paul's belay, at the top of the Sargent Chimney

On the way down, I caught sight of some Teton Edelweiss (actually Alpine Phlox) hiding between a skunky clump of Sky Pilot and the Black Dike itself, replete with orange lichen.

Amazing Lower Saddle Sunsets

Being at 11,200 feet give you an awesome perspective from which to watch the sun go down. Here, we can see far enough that when the sun drops below the clouds, we catch the pink light shining up on the underside of the clouds, a short-lived but amazing phenomenon.
And yes, we did get rain that night.

Wendy and Marty summit via the Owen-Spalding!

Early summiteers, (by 8 am) on a windy but clear day. We could see the plume from Old Faithful over Yellowstone!

Still a lot of snow on the north sides of the peaks as this photo portrays. And we got to glissade on our way down from the Lower Saddle.

A talented and strong young woman and a father with a lot to be proud of!

Cliff on the Grand Teton!

It was great to run into Cliff at the top of the Grand.

Last time I saw Cliff we were skiing off the Tram (just left of his helmet in the picture) back in February.

To other climbs on other days!