I guess the best place to start if from the beginning. Last year when my girlfriend asked what I wanted for Christmas I jokingly said "To climb the Grand Teton." Well, that is exactly what she gave me. I spent a summer in Jackson Wyoming during college and I fell in love with the Tetons. I never got the chance to climb the Grand but the thought never left my mind. We planned the trip (she did more of the planning that I did) and off to Wyoming we went.
This is a picture that Jess took from the airplane. We got lucky and both had window seat and ended up landing towards the south and it gave us awesome views of the mountains. This was Jess's first views of the mountains and you could probablytell from the amount of pictures she took. It was a neat memory because there were a lot of people saying "Wow!" out loud. A woman sitting next to me that was from India even pushed me back into my seat so that she could get a view out of the window. I guess I was acting like a kid in the window of a toy store.
Once we got on the ground and made our way over to pick up our rental car we were hit with same bad news. We were informed that Thrifty was out of compact cars. This was discouraging since gas is expensive these days and we planned on driving a good bit. The bad news quickly turned around when they asked us if we wanted a red or blue convertible mustang.
We went with the blue mustang and it provided an enjoyable ride through the park.
Here is a good view of the mountain, The Sleeping Indian.
After getting settled in the hotel, 
which was a block away from the historic Jackson Square,
we went out to meet my college friend for lunch. 
After a quick bite he let Jessica and I ride his tricycle back to his apartment while he walked the two dogs that he was watching. Yes, I said trycycle.
Clint had to take the dogs back to his house so Jessica and I decided to ride through the Grand Teton National Park and check in with guide service that we had hired to guide us up the Grand.
Exum Guides was started by Glen Exum who was the first person to ever climb the Exum Ridge of the Grand. They are one of the most highly regarded guide services in the world and I recommend them to anyone who wants to climb the Grand.
We rode through the park on the way back to Jackson Hole and ended up seeing a moose feeding in a pond. Jess took some great photos.
Jessica also fell in love with the beautiful Aspen trees.
Once back at the hotel we decided that we would wake up early the next morning and ride into Yellowstone and see Old Faithful. Before we were even on the road good we saw four bison on the side of the road. We pulled off on the side of the road and took some good photos of them. Jess was amazed at how large they were.
We continued on the road and crossed the Continental Divide a time or two before deciding to pull over and taking a photo.
I had inspiration to relieve myself on the Continental Divide from my favorite book, “A River Runs Through It”, so that is exactly what I did. Jessica was “nice” enough to snap a picture of me.
After the brief stop we pulled into the Old Faithful parking lot just in time to see Old Faithful going off over the tree tops. We had just missed the eruption, but not to worry because it erupts around every 92 minutes, hence its name.
Since we had 90 or so minutes to waste we walked around to look at the rest of the geysers around Old Faithful.
Our favorite was the Morning Glory pool. It was amazing. We made it back just in time to see Old Faithful.
We were amazed of how many people were watching so we had to take a quick snap.
After sightseeing in Yellowstone we went home and meet up with Clint who had bought us tickets to attend the Jackson County Fair and the highlight of the event, the Demolition Derby. What a show. It was awesome cheering for cars to crash into each other. After a long day we headed back to the hotel to prepare for our next four days of climbing.
On Monday we had day one of climbing school, Multi-Pitch Climbing-Level I. This required a ferryboat ride across Jenny Lake and climbing on some cliffs near Hidden Falls.
This day was an introduction to knots, belaying, rappelling, and some climbing techniques.
This was a fun day of learning. Jessica did great in this class and really loved the rappelling.
The next morning we started even earlier and the day lasted even longer. This day of class was Multi-Pitch Climbing-Level II. We found out that this day we were actually being graded with a pass/fail on if we would be cleared to attempt the Grand. This day of class involved harder climbs, bigger rappels and more practice belaying.
After a 120 foot rappel, a vertical climb that was tougher than any pitch on the Grand and multiple belays we were informed that we were going to be cleared to go up the Grand. This excited both of us and left us very excited about the next two days of climbing.
We woke up the next morning and ate a large breakfast and met for the seven and a half mile hike with 5000 feet of elevation gain to the saddle where we would be spending the night. This hike ended up being tougher than both of us ever imagined.
We hiked over snow, boulder fields, by waterfalls and through meadows all while in the shadows of massive cliffs and mountain peaks. Towards the end of the hike we had to put our helmets on and rope in to make a climb up to the saddle.
We put on our helmets because of the chance of rock fall. At this point in the hike we were in the elements. The start of our hike was around 80 degrees and at this point the wind was blowing hard enough to knock us off of our feet. It was cold and we had to add layers. Once we reached the Exum hut on the saddle we packed our bags for the next morning, ate dinner and tried to calm our nerves. Looking up at the Grand really was intimidating. It was still towering over us and it did not look like an easy undertaking. I was really nervous because at this point some altitude sickness set in. I was so nauseous that I couldn’t eat much dinner. I think that I didn’t drink enough water and seriously doubted if I was going to be physically up to the climb. I went to bed at 8 pm and tried to get some sleep. This was harder than it seemed even after the exhausting hike because we were in a hut with 11 other climbers (Exum guides sleep outside as a tradition). I was nauseous, the wind was whipping the hut’s canvas walls, and there was thunder booming all around us. At least I thought this was thunder. After listening for a while I realized that it was actually rock falls taking place all around us. What make this noise even more amazing was that I was “sleeping” with ear plugs in. It was terrifying thinking that a boulder could roll over us at any time.
The next morning started at 3 am. The guides began boiling water and getting everyone ready for the climb. By this time the strong winds had slowed down and made for a nice starting hike by headlamp. I was still feeling very rough from the altitude and doubt that I would have continued if it wasn’t for the determination in Jessica’s eyes. She was my rock in this situation and it inspired me to continue. We hiked for a couple of hours and even made a climb in the dark. When the sky finally began to lighten it was amazing. We couldn’t actually see the sunrise because of the side of the mountain that we were on, but it was by far the most gorgeous sunrise that I have ever seen.
We even saw a great shadow of the Grand stretching over Idaho.
We were climbing the Owen-Spalding route. My favorite section of climbing was four pitches. The Belly Roll and the Crawl of the Grand are actually traverses that are over fantastic exposure. The next climb is the Double Chimney and then the Owen Chimney which was by far my favorite pitch. After these four pitches it was just another hour or so of scrambles and climbs and we were at the summit of the Grand at 8:30 in the morning.
The feeling of accomplishment was as great as the view. It was an amazing moment. We ate a snack, took some pictures, and began the decent.
The decent involved a huge rappel. You can notice Jessica at the very top in a grey jacket.
We made it back to the hut at about noon, ate a quick lunch, watched some marmots scavenging for food, and began the seven and a half mile hike back to the blue mustang.
Needless to say we were beat by the time we saw the car at about 6 pm.
We ended up stopping and eating a hamburger and fries before going out and celebrating with Clint. Yes we ate two dinners, but after eating nothing dry foods for four days it is understandable.
Sushi was the main course.
The rest of our week was spent exploring the shops in Jackson and visiting the National Wildlife Art Museum. I have been to many art museums with Jessica and this was by far my favorite museum that I have even been to. It is a must stop if you are ever in Jackson.
Jessica and I enjoyed our vacation but during it we agreed that the next one should be more laid back with more relaxing time. I am not sure if she still thinks that way because this week she came over with information printed out about climbing every highpoint in the 50 states. I think I turned a beach girl into a mountain lover. Actually, I don’t think I did it. One gander at the Teton Mountains and you will be awed.
Julio!
Here is a kickoff after we scored. Can you see the football in the air?
The kick is good!
Team heading to the locker room at halftime.
