The Classic Grand Teton Climb
Exum's two-day group climbs are the classic way of climbing the Grand Teton. Your group will consist of climbers who have passed our prerequisite classes for the Grand Teton. You are thus ensured of a well-matched group. Group climbs rely on participation and teamwork during your ascent, and the result is a heightened sense of accomplishment and an unforgettable bond with your teammates. Multi-Pitch Level II
Private Instruction can replace the group classes if desired
You will meet your guide(s) the first morning at Exum's office in Lupine Meadows. After checking gear, you will drive to the Lupine Meadows trailhead. (Please be prepared with your own transportation as Exum guides are unable to transport clients in their personal vehicles.) Carrying only your personal food and clothing, you will spend the day hiking up Garnet Canyon to our private hut at the Lower Saddle (11,620 feet). Though the hike is long and at times strenuous, guides set a slow and steady pace so you may enjoy the exercise and the fabulous alpine scenery. Arrive at the hut in late afternoon.
You and your guide(s) will leave the hut before dawn for the Exum Ridge, the Owen-Spalding Route or the Enclosure. The Owen-Spalding is an easier route whose guidebook description reveals little about how thrilling it really is. There is as much exposure, if not more, on the first two pitches of the Owen-Spalding as on many routes of a much harder grade. The Owen-Spalding Route is the line of the peak's first ascent and holds many classic passages with sensational exposure like the Belly Roll, the Crawl and the Catwalk.
The Exum Ridge is reached via Wall Street, an exciting exposed ramp. The 13-pitch route then follows a pinnacled crest line up the Golden Staircase, Wind Tunnel, Double Cracks, Friction Pitch, Unsoeld's Layback, and onto the summit ridge. Some of the most high quality and aesthetic rock in the range granite of the forms the Exum Ridge, undeniably one of the most spectacular routes of its grade anywhere in the world.
Typically parties reach the summit by late morning. You then begin the descent, rappelling and downclimbing back to the Exum Hut for lunch and to collect gear.
After recharging you will begin the descent down Garnet Canyon, back to the Lupine Meadows trailhead. Most parties return to Exum's headquarters by early evening.
The Enclsoure, the Grand Teton's western summit, is a good alternate should bad weather, poor route conditions, or your personal well-being impede a summit attempt of the Grand Teton. Conditions in the mountains are unpredictable and the Enclosure serves as a great alternative.



