Intro

This was my second trip to the Tetons this summer. In early July I had climbed for four days in the Tetons with my sister Jenny. It was a great time with my sister and I was reminded of how much I love the Tetons. Plus, Jackson Hole is an easy place to find places to work remotely (so I can work a bit around the edges) and there is plenty of easy free camping in the area if you know where to look. I returned two weeks later, not batting an eye at the eight-hour drive from Estes Park to Jackson Hole. This time I climbed with Erin, a newfound and equally-psyched climbing partner from Boulder. Erin and I climbed for four days. I drove up after work on Tuesday, worked remotely out of the Jackson Hole library and explored town on Wednesday while Erin drove up, and climbed with Erin on Thursday to Sunday. We climbed Guide's Wall (5.8+to 5.10, 6p) on Storm Point (Thursday), Armed Robbery (5.9, 8p) on Cloudveil Dome (Friday), Dihedral of Horrors (5.9, 4-6p) on Omega Buttress (Saturday), and Caveat Emptor (5.10, 6p) on Cathedral Buttress (Sunday). It was great to have a partner on the same page— i.e. a rest day just means a sligtly shorter route with a slightly shorter approach. I drove back to Estes Park on Monday, after putting in a full day working remotely from the library and Whole Foods in Jackson Hole. What a stellar four days of climbing!

This page gives a trip report for Dihedral of Horrors (5.9, 4-6p) on Omega Buttress. Omega Buttress refers to the entire wild collection of cliffs, walls, and towers that lies between two major gullies in Death Canyon. The central section consists of a flatiron-like tower (sometimes referred to as Ship's Prow). There are two conspicuous sharp-edged left-facing corners. The right dihedral, capped by a large black roof with a white vein of rock in it, is the Dihedral of Horrors. The rock on this route is super gneiss, and the climbing is well-protected and quite entertaining. Erin and I had a blast on this "rest day" after our 15.5-hour day the previous day on Cloudveil Dome.
It was an unusually warm day. Although we had not even considered it when choosing this climb as the day's objective, Dihedral of Horrors turned out to be a great hot-day route, since the corner stays shady until mid-afternoon.

The following page gives a route overlay, time stats, and photos from our climb.

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

3rd

Follow the Death Canyon trail past the two switchback corners in the canyon proper to the talus slope from which the Omega Buttress is readily visible. The dihedral of Dihedral of Horrors is obvious. Find a steep climbers trail and hike just left of the talus to the base of a wall, go right up a gully and past a 4th class step and up to the bench below the buttress.

Pitch 1

5.7 R

Climb a slab with minimal pro and trend left. Aim for a large, talus-covered ledge with a big tree.

Note: The ledge can be reached by a gully to the left, but this is often wet, has much loose rock, and is generally unpleasant. You can also avoid the runout 5.7 portion by climbing an easy crack just to its right. But for the highest quality pitch, climb the 5.7R.

Pitch 2

5.easy to 5.7

Move the belay up and leftward to the right end of the broad ledge and the base of the next pitch. This is more moving the belay than actual climbing, although there is an option for a short 5.7 crack if you want.

Pitch 3

5.9

Climb a dihedral with a punchy 5.9 section near its top, and above this trend right heading for the base of the obvious dihedral.

Pitch 4

5.9

This is a stellar pitch of climbing. Layback, stem, and otherwise climb cracks up the steep beautiful dihedral. There are several nice rests, and the climbing is quite entertaining and the rock quality is great. Finish on a small belay ledge on the left underneath the giant roof. Or keep going and link into the next pitch.

Pitch 5

5.9

Climb up to the diamond-shaped roof and then make a traverse beneath it to the right with great feet and great holds and pull up onto a nice perch at the end of the roof. This is an awesome belay spot so belay here. (It is not recommended to continue up due to rope drag and because this belay perch is pretty cool.)

Pitches 4 and 5 can be linked.

Pitch 6

5.7

Continue up for 20 feet in an easy crack to complete the climb. Belay off a boulder. This is a short pitch.

Descent

Rappels

The descent involves two rappels and some scrambling. A 70m rope (or double ropes) is required for the first rappel. Locate the huge tree with lots of slings. A rap leads to a gully. Down climb a short bit of 4th if you have a 70. Follow the trail to skiers left, and look for a tree with rap slings BEFORE the huge gully. Rap to a mellow ramp. From here take a climbers trail down the gully back to the base of the route.