Home / Cathedral Traverse 28
July 2012In late July Martin joined a few other South African expatriates (and one Scot) for a climb of the Cathedral Traverse in the Teton Range, WY. This involved going up Teewinot (12,324’, or about 5,600’ above the valley floor), then continuing up and over Peak 11,840, the East Prong (12,050’) , Mt. Owen (12,928’) and finally the N Ridge (5.7) of the Grand Teton (13,770’) and down the other side. Actually we had originally hoped to do the entire Grand Traverse, which would have meant continuing up and over the Middle and South Tetons, then the Ice Cream Cone, Gilkey Tower, Spalding Peak, Cloudveil Dome and last but not least Nez Perce. But we weren’t moving fast enough to that in the time that we’d planned. (All the good pictures are courtesy of Gordon Laurens.)
- Above_Koven_Col.jpg
Teewinot, the East Prong and the Koven Col as seen from the lower E Ridge on of Mt Owen. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Below_1st_Snow_field.jpg
Hiking up the lower slopes of Teewinot. From L to R: Kevin, John, Martin and Stewart Middlemiss. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Burrito_Bivy2.jpg
Sunset over Idaho from our bivvy site on the Grand Teton. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Burritto_Bivy_2.jpg
Stewart, Kevin and Martin at our second night bivvy site, on the Second Ledge of the Grand Teton. By now we had hoped to have summitted the Grand Teton and climbed up and over the Middle Teton, but we made some route-finding errors and we weren’t moving fast enough. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Day1_Sunrise2.jpg
Sunrise over Jackson Lake on the way up Teewinot. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - IMG_1621.jpg
Traversing around the upper snowfield on Mt Owen. On the L is part of the N Face of the Grand Teton. - IMG_1633.jpg
Looking down at the N Face of the Grand Teton from the bivvy site on Mt. Owen - IMG_1642.jpg
We didn’t bring crampons and ice axes all this way in vain. Gordon climbing up to Gunsight Notch between Mt Owen and the Grand Teton. - IMG_1655.jpg
Martin approaching the Grandstand at the base of the N Ridge of the Grand Teton, with the W Ledges of Mt Owen in the background. - IMG_1671.jpg
Gordon on the N Ridge of the Grand Teton, with the Teton Glacier far below. - IMG_9782.jpg
Stewart and Gordon at the col just below the summit of Teewinot, with the Grand Teton and Mt. Owen in the background. - IMG_9797.jpg
Descending from the East Prong to the Koven Col below Mt Owen. - IMG_9801.jpg
Kevin, John and Stewart at our first night bivvy site, just below the summit of Mt Owen. - IMG_9805.jpg
Martin at the summit of Mt Owen, with the N Face and N Ridge of the Grand Teton in the background. - IMG_9809.jpg
Starting the descent of the W Ledges of Mt Owen the following morning - IMG_9818.jpg
The Second Ledge on the N Ridge of the Grand Teton. From here the climbing is mostly scrambling. - IMG_9840.jpg
Stewart, Kevin, John and Gordon at the summit of the Grand Teton. We continued along the Second Ledge to join the Owen-Spalding route, from where it’s a short section of easy 5th class and a few hundred feet of 4th and 3rd class scrambling to the top (with lots of company from guided groups). - IMG_9841.jpg
Mt Owen and Jackson Lake from the summit of the Grand Teton. - IMG_9852.jpg
Looking back at the SW side of the Grand Teton from the Lower Saddle. From here there’s a good trail down Garnet Canyon to the valley floor. There was some loose talk of spending a third night out and completing the Grand Traverse, but without any food left no-one was keen on the idea. Just as well we didn’t, as the weather turned nasty a short while later. - IMG_9858.jpg
Hiking down Garnet Canyon, with the Middle Teton in the background. - Middle_Teton_from_Grand_Decent_.jpg
The Middle Teton from the Upper Saddle on the Grand Teton. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Owen_Summit_.jpg
Mt Moran, Jackson Lake and Teewinot fom the summit of Mt Owen. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Second_Ledge_Traverse.jpg
Rounding the N Ridge of the Grand Teton on the Second Ledge. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Storm_Coming_in.jpg
A parting view of the South, Middle and Grand Tetons, Mt Owen, and Teewinot under stormy skies. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Teton_From_Grand_Stand.jpg
Stewart starting the climb of the N Ridge of the Grand Teton, about five or six pitches of 5.7. It felt hard for the grade up at 13,000’ with approach shoes and big packs. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Teton_from_Tweenot.jpg
N Face of the Grand Teton from Teewinot. In the background are the peaks we didn’t get around to climbing. From L to R: Nez Perce (and behind it Buck Mountain), Cloudveil Dome, Spalding Peak, Gilkey Tower, the Ice Cream Cone, and the South and Middle Teton. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - Tweenot_Summit3.jpg
Summit of Teewinot, with the Grand Teton and Mt. Owen in the background. L to R: John, Martin, Kevin and Stewart. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens. - View_from_meadow.jpg
Panorama of the Teton Range from Togwotee Pass. The Cathedral Traverse doesn’t look like much of a traverse from this angle, since Teewinot and Mt. Owen are right in front of the Grand Teton (high point left of centre). From L to R: John Christie, Kevin Smith and Martin. Photo courtesy of Gordon Laurens.