My sister Jenny was in the Tetons for a month working remotely and exploring the area in her free time as her boyfriend Michael guided people up the Grand. It had been four years since I had last climbed in the Tetons (when I climbed the
South Buttress of Mt. Moran in July 2019), and three years since I had last seen Jenny (when she briefly came to visit me in Boulder when I had my knee injury). So Jenny and I planned a four day trip together. I drove up after work on a Friday, and we climbed
The Snaz (5.9-5.10+, 9p) on Cathedral Buttress (Saturday),
Do It For Doug (5.10c, 4p) and
Exum Arete (5.10a, 3-6p) on Rock Springs Buttress (Sunday), worked/rested Monday morning and hiked to the Lower Saddle Monday afternoon, and climbed
The Complete Exum w/ Gold Face (5.10a) on The Grand Teton (Tuesday). I drove back to Estes Park on Wednesday, after putting in a full day working remotely from the library and Whole Foods in Jackson Hole. What a stellar 4 days of climbing and hanging out with my sister!
This page gives a trip report for our second day of climbing: two of the most popular and better routes on Rock Springs Buttress. Rock Springs Buttress, composed on granitic gneiss, has become Jackson's premier cragging area. One often gets the sense of being at a remote crag in the Alps. This wall has been climbed at for over fifty years; thus there are routes and combinations of pitches that have been linked together all over the place. There are some pure sport climbs and a lot of routes that mix bolts and gear.
Although you can take the aerial tram up and then hike over to Rock Springs Buttress, Jenny and I decided to hike up to Rock Springs Buttress from below. This saved us $45 each, gave a bit of a warm-up workout, and probably actually took less time than taking the tram and hiking over and down to the base of the Buttress. The hike up took us only 1.5 hours and there were some nice flowers along the way. Our first route of the day was
Do It For Doug (5.10c, 4p). This route is fully bolt-protected up through Pitch 4 (Pitch 5 to the top is 5.8 gear-protected and probably not often climbed). This climb is one of the best in the area and uses all techniques, from working up corner systems to featured, exposed faces. We rappelled the route (with a single 70) and then headed left 100 feet for our second route of the day:
Exum Arete (5.10a, 3-6p). This route takes an improbable line up a stunning arete and does so a modest grade. The climbing is fun, rock quality superb, belays fixed, protection plentiful, and exposure wild. Although you can rappel the route with a single rope, we had plans to top out and hike over to the aerial tram. We had come in light, since the follower carried the pack on this route. Once at the top, we hiked over to the aerial tram. This took us about 50 minutes. We splurged on snacks at the waffle hut (Jenny got a waffle and I got an ice cream sandwich), and then we took the tram (for free!) back down to Teton Village just minutes from where we had parked.
This page gives overlays and photos from our two climbs on Rock Springs Buttress. This was the best kind of day, unique in so many ways, and overflowing with experiences. I had a blast climbing with my sister.