Teewinton Mountain from the highway. The trail follows the ridge on the left, through
the triangle of trees
Teewinot
Mountain (attempt, sort of) We wanted to ascend Middle Teton (3900 m, 1950 m gain; Grand Teton is 300 m higher but it's not a scramble) but Dinah still hadn't recovered from the Grays Group climb and she ended up sleeping in. A late start made it impossible to climb any peak since all the peaks were full day ascents. We settled on a partial ascent up Teewinton Mountain that would give us some views. We encountered only two people along the way. With an earlier start than us they had no trouble bagging the peak and we met as they descended. The trail starts at Lupine Meadows. Even though it's an unofficial trail, it appeared well-trodden and maintained. The trail switchbacks up the right side of a drainage. Dinah stopped near the treeline when she ran out of steam so I continued on. I knew I wouldn't have enough time to summit but I was curious. After climbing well above treeline I could see no obvious crux above me. However, continuing would require routefinding. I was still more than 400 m below the 3757 m summit when I turned back. I had gained 1340 m. |
Teewinton Mountain from the highway. The trail follows the ridge on the left,
through
the triangle of trees
Starting up the trail
A waterfall near the start
Scarlet gilia
Two butterflies share a thistle flower
Mountain ash
Sage brush covers the plain to the west
Open meadows allowed us views of the summit ...
But the temperature was 31°C so we tried to stay in the trees.
At 900 m we're still 700 m below the summit
We often heard the cries of hawks
Jenny Lake (foreground) and Jackson Lake (upper left)
Dinah stayed by the rock outcropping in the trees while I continued up.
She talked to
Phil from
Denver who was on his way down (mouse over).
The summit is still well above me.
From here it was possible to traverse right to easier terrain, but this is
as far as I got.
