Summited!
It started at 4:00 in the morning. If you want to get technical about it, I guess this whole thing started a year previously when I decided I wanted to climb Teewinot, the sixth highest mountain in the Teton Range for my birthday. Last year, however, due to unlucky timing and bad weather we didn't start climbing but instead diverted to go cross-country backpacking in one of my favorite places on Earth.
This year, as September drew closer, I was actually kind of hesitant to make plans for Teewinot. I wanted to climb it, for sure, but I didn't want to get all the way out to Jackson and realize that it would be unsafe to climb. In the end I decided to go for it. No regrets.
The day before, I had gone to nordic practice and suffered through the hardest nordic practice of my life, at least that's what it felt like (nine, four hundred meter sprints getting faster each time, followed by two, two hundred meter sprints and one, one hundred meter sprint at the end of an intensity block.) We made our way up to Jackson and rendezvoused with my dad, shout out to him, for making this all come together. He had picked out a spot near the base of Teewinot where we could camp. We set out a tarp in the sagebrush and camped out under the stars.
We woke up painstakingly early and ate delicious, frozen, bagels from the best bagel shop, Pearl Street Bagels, besides maybe Einstein's because their cream cheese might throw it over the edge. Coaxed out of my sleeping bag by a cup of hot tea, I rummaged around in my clothes bag and found out that I had conveniently forgotten long pants. Genius, I know. I am climbing to the top of a 12,324 in early September and the only thing I bring are short athletic shorts. Which is why I hauled a pair of jeans and multiple layers of upper body clothing to the top of the first major peak I've ever summited. Moral of the story: make a checklist and then actually check it.
To make up for my bare legs, I bundled up with a sweatshirt, coat, puffy, and everything else I could scavenge up. Then we flipped on our headlamps and started hiking.
If it wasn't my birthday, I'm sure my family would have blown up on me. I hadn't had a sip of caffeine for three years because I don't really like the taste of coffee or tea, but because I'd had an entire mug full that morning, I was very awake. It was 4:30 in the morning...and I couldn't stop talking. My parents kept suggesting we play the "quiet game" or have 10 minutes of silence, which only lasted a few moments because another idea was screaming to be announced.
Hours later the sun started to rise, painting the mountains in a beautiful red-orange light. The route got steadily steeper, morphing from trail to boulder field to sheer rock.
It is hard to describe the exhilaration and sense of accomplishment you feel on the summit. You are just scrambling up through through the last bit of rock and then all of a sudden...hello cliff. At first, that is the only thing you can think about. Not falling off the narrow bridge of weather torn rock that makes up the top. After finally tearing your eyes from the drop below, you look up and feel immediately dizzy. The north face of the grand teton is in the backdrop, so close that you can count the people on the summit. We probably stayed up there for ten minutes, just enjoying the beauty around us. It was an amazing moment.
The walk down seemed to take forever. At first it was even more fun than the ascent because our hearts were still hammering from the excitement. There were a thousand little rock climbs to experiment on and we enjoyed a granola bar in the sun. The last hour was actually the most dangerous. At that point we had been hiking for ten hours and it was taking immense effort to stop your knees from crumpling beneath you and diving headfirst into the rocks. I honestly couldn't walk the next day. But it was worth it.
This year, as September drew closer, I was actually kind of hesitant to make plans for Teewinot. I wanted to climb it, for sure, but I didn't want to get all the way out to Jackson and realize that it would be unsafe to climb. In the end I decided to go for it. No regrets.
Leigh Lake in Teton National Park
The day before, I had gone to nordic practice and suffered through the hardest nordic practice of my life, at least that's what it felt like (nine, four hundred meter sprints getting faster each time, followed by two, two hundred meter sprints and one, one hundred meter sprint at the end of an intensity block.) We made our way up to Jackson and rendezvoused with my dad, shout out to him, for making this all come together. He had picked out a spot near the base of Teewinot where we could camp. We set out a tarp in the sagebrush and camped out under the stars.
We woke up painstakingly early and ate delicious, frozen, bagels from the best bagel shop, Pearl Street Bagels, besides maybe Einstein's because their cream cheese might throw it over the edge. Coaxed out of my sleeping bag by a cup of hot tea, I rummaged around in my clothes bag and found out that I had conveniently forgotten long pants. Genius, I know. I am climbing to the top of a 12,324 in early September and the only thing I bring are short athletic shorts. Which is why I hauled a pair of jeans and multiple layers of upper body clothing to the top of the first major peak I've ever summited. Moral of the story: make a checklist and then actually check it.
If it wasn't my birthday, I'm sure my family would have blown up on me. I hadn't had a sip of caffeine for three years because I don't really like the taste of coffee or tea, but because I'd had an entire mug full that morning, I was very awake. It was 4:30 in the morning...and I couldn't stop talking. My parents kept suggesting we play the "quiet game" or have 10 minutes of silence, which only lasted a few moments because another idea was screaming to be announced.
Sunrise on Leigh Lake
Hours later the sun started to rise, painting the mountains in a beautiful red-orange light. The route got steadily steeper, morphing from trail to boulder field to sheer rock.
My brother and I on the summit
Trying to reach the very top...
The walk down seemed to take forever. At first it was even more fun than the ascent because our hearts were still hammering from the excitement. There were a thousand little rock climbs to experiment on and we enjoyed a granola bar in the sun. The last hour was actually the most dangerous. At that point we had been hiking for ten hours and it was taking immense effort to stop your knees from crumpling beneath you and diving headfirst into the rocks. I honestly couldn't walk the next day. But it was worth it.
My mom and dad at the summit
Arrivederci,
Victoria
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