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Thursday, 06 Sep 07
What we really wanted to do was ski it, but being that there was no snow we figured we would climb it.
Nine skier girls — Andria Huskinson, Suzanne Graham, Tamara Guttman, Sunny Fenton, Jess Kunzer, Emily Bodner, Jess Spangler, Julia Niles, and me — were determined to climb the 13,770-foot Grand Teton. Little did we know it may have been the longest chain of girls to ever climb the “Big Tit.” (Likely not, but we like to think so.) All tied together in a 450-foot long chain (three ropes), we belayed each other up/down the Owen Spalding route.
The girls came from Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Jackson (most had never climbed the peak before). So SheJumps with the help of Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, specifically Julia Niles, made the trip happen. The Grand Teton, French for “Big Tit,” is the highest mountain in the Teton Range in western Wyoming. At nearly an 8,000-foot vertical rise, it makes any Colorado 14er look like a weenie walk in the park. It feels like outer space up there. William Owen and Franklin Spalding first climbed the peak Aug. 11, 1898, and since then the Tetons have been the capital of American mountaineering. Though many have climbed the Grand, this last winter our guide/friend Niles and her best friend Lisa Van Sciver were the first girl team to ski the peak, which requires alpine-style climbing, a little ice climbing, and a fear threshold like no other.
As skier girls, that is the ultimate goal, but knocking it off in the summer is certainly a good pre-requisite. The OS route is at most a 5.4 climb and the easiest way up, but the exposure adds an entirely different element to the adventure. One misstep and you are flying off the side of the mountain. Obstacles included the Belly Roll, The Crawl, Chimney, and an overhanging 100-foot plus rappel. Without Niles, we all figured we would be lost somewhere between the boulder and scree fields during the 7-mile approach from our cars to the Lower Saddle (still four hours from the summit).
But about four hours from JHMG high camp, where we slept under the brilliantly bright stars, we summited at 10:45 a.m. “This is amazing,” said Jess Kunzer, director of communications for Ski Utah, at the top. All of us were in ah that nine of us safely made it to the summit, the weather was perfect, and we were, well, on top of the Grand Teton. So, in celebration, we immediately started to hula hoop with a homemade detachable hoop on loan from Sue Larson, the western scout for Roxy, who couldn’t make the trip. And there were plenty of other skier girls who wanted to come, but don’t worry …
This winter, Niles said she would take all of us up the Grand to ski it, now that’s what we’re talking about.
For information about guided trips, visit jhmg.com.
SheJumps and Roxy team up this weekend for a girls trip to Zion for some epic canyoneering. From high in the sky, we head underground to explore some more. Who knows, maybe our findings will be the beginning of another planned ski adventure.
Hula hooping the Grand Teton
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What we really wanted to do was ski it, but being that there was no snow we figured we would climb it.
Nine skier girls — Andria Huskinson, Suzanne Graham, Tamara Guttman, Sunny Fenton, Jess Kunzer, Emily Bodner, Jess Spangler, Julia Niles, and me — were determined to climb the 13,770-foot Grand Teton. Little did we know it may have been the longest chain of girls to ever climb the “Big Tit.” (Likely not, but we like to think so.) All tied together in a 450-foot long chain (three ropes), we belayed each other up/down the Owen Spalding route.
The girls came from Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Jackson (most had never climbed the peak before). So SheJumps with the help of Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, specifically Julia Niles, made the trip happen. The Grand Teton, French for “Big Tit,” is the highest mountain in the Teton Range in western Wyoming. At nearly an 8,000-foot vertical rise, it makes any Colorado 14er look like a weenie walk in the park. It feels like outer space up there. William Owen and Franklin Spalding first climbed the peak Aug. 11, 1898, and since then the Tetons have been the capital of American mountaineering. Though many have climbed the Grand, this last winter our guide/friend Niles and her best friend Lisa Van Sciver were the first girl team to ski the peak, which requires alpine-style climbing, a little ice climbing, and a fear threshold like no other.
As skier girls, that is the ultimate goal, but knocking it off in the summer is certainly a good pre-requisite. The OS route is at most a 5.4 climb and the easiest way up, but the exposure adds an entirely different element to the adventure. One misstep and you are flying off the side of the mountain. Obstacles included the Belly Roll, The Crawl, Chimney, and an overhanging 100-foot plus rappel. Without Niles, we all figured we would be lost somewhere between the boulder and scree fields during the 7-mile approach from our cars to the Lower Saddle (still four hours from the summit).
But about four hours from JHMG high camp, where we slept under the brilliantly bright stars, we summited at 10:45 a.m. “This is amazing,” said Jess Kunzer, director of communications for Ski Utah, at the top. All of us were in ah that nine of us safely made it to the summit, the weather was perfect, and we were, well, on top of the Grand Teton. So, in celebration, we immediately started to hula hoop with a homemade detachable hoop on loan from Sue Larson, the western scout for Roxy, who couldn’t make the trip. And there were plenty of other skier girls who wanted to come, but don’t worry …
This winter, Niles said she would take all of us up the Grand to ski it, now that’s what we’re talking about.
For information about guided trips, visit jhmg.com.
SheJumps and Roxy team up this weekend for a girls trip to Zion for some epic canyoneering. From high in the sky, we head underground to explore some more. Who knows, maybe our findings will be the beginning of another planned ski adventure.
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