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Boulder Basics
In the Tetons, Lander & Jackson, learning to climb is a cinch
By Kurt Repanshek, Member, American Society of Journalists and Authors
 The Grand Tetons
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The chiseled profile of the Teton Range – there is no more dramatic panorama in Wyoming. Craggy and snowcapped, these battleship-gray mountains with their glacial spars harbor a realm of world-class mountain climbs as well as moderate hikes that invite you into the landscape.
One of the youngest ranges in the Rocky Mountains, the Tetons, towering 7,000 feet over the valley floor, haven’t yet eroded enough to generate much life-giving soil. As a result, you rise quickly through aspen glades and conifer forests to confront the walls of granite and ice that entice the world’s top mountaineers.
At first glance daunting to novices perhaps, the massifs known as Grand Teton, Middle Teton, South Teton, Moran and Teewinot are surprisingly accessible once you’ve mastered a few moves. Learn how to read a rock face, to properly knot a rope, to belay a companion, and to leverage your arm and leg muscles and you’ll be capable of scaling the 13,770-foot Grand Teton itself in two days.
Jackson’s two venerable climbing companies, Exum Mountain Guides and Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, offer classes and guided trips throughout the year to introduce climbers of all skills and ages to the Tetons. Beginners determined to ascend to the roof of Jackson Hole must enroll in two days of courses that each company offers on the house-sized boulders and cliffs rising behind picturesque Jenny Lake. Here you’ll 
Trails in Jackson and Lander
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learn how to wedge your fingers and toes into nooks and crannies for traction, and how to rappel into thin air. At the end of those drills, your guides determine which of their students have the pluck and capability to set out for the top of the Grand Teton.
Ascents of Grand Teton typically involve two days. The first is spent working your way up Garnet Canyon to the rocky saddle between the Grand and Middle Teton. After a night spent at 11,650 feet under the star-studded sky, you’ll push on in the early morning darkness towards the summit, negotiating the steep and breathtaking “Idaho Express,” passing the “Enclosure,” thought to have been built by Native Americans, and continuing on to the mountaintop. Once you run out of rock to climb atop Grand Teton, you’ll have a short time to marvel at the view before returning all the way down to the valley floor.
The Tetons are not the only climbing grounds in western Wyoming. The Wind River Range just to the east offers a number of world-class climbs, including a multi-day trek to the top of Gannett Peak, Wyoming’s highest point at 13,804 feet. Jackson’s climbing companies also offer a number of specialty programs, including some geared for kids as young as seven, some designed for families, others for women, yet more for teens, and some that focus on climbing in snow.
For more information:
Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce
Grand Teton National Park
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