Ski Descent Ford Stettner Couloir of The Grand Teton

Having just gotten into backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering this year, I was a bit hesitant to undertake such a challenging and exposed mountain. Honestly, I've only been on crampons a couple of times and have never used technical ice tools. However, I met a Jackson local back in March while skiing at JHMR who exuded a certain confident panache and patient restraint when recalling prior backcountry forays that I immediately felt we were on the same wavelength as far as risk and safety were concerned. Our initial plan was to head up in early May. However, the Tetons received a fair amount of snow in early May so we were pushed back several weeks from our initial aspirations. Finally, after getting shut down the prior weekend due to rain we settled on June 7th as our summit day. The weather looked to be perfect for late morning corn skiing. However, we knew we had to be off the mountain by early afternoon to avoid wet slides and falling loose rocks. With a goal of shouldering our packs at 1:30 AM Saturday morning, alarms would be set for a "so early it's late" wake-up of 12:00 AM. After organizing and splitting gear I laid down at 7:30 PM and tossed and turned for the next 4.5 hours with anticipation and apprehension at the coming day.

NE facing Ford Couloir funneling over a cliff with the Chevy and Stettner Couloirs entering from the bottom right.

With thousands of feet of exposure and 55 degree slopes leading up to cliffs, the mountain usually claims more than a couple lives per year; there is not much room for error up there. I wasn't so much worried about the skiing as I was transitioning from skiing to boot packing and back. Traditionally, this is when most people loose footing and start into uncontrolled slides. I went over all of the details in my head of how the day would unfold from the beta I'd gathered online. I rehearsed best and worst case transitions and planned possible anchors needed in my head. When the alarm went off at 12:00 AM I was awake and waiting for it. After downing a Cliff Bar and banana we threw our gear in the truck and headed out. Parking at the Lupine Meadows trail head there were a few cars in the parking lot filled with like minded individuals with similar plans.

On the trail.

We set off in approach shoes for the 4 mile hike to the mouth of Garnet Canyon. Making descent time given full packs and elevation gain we reached the mouth at 3:30 AM. We cached our shoes off trail and donned our ski boots; I welcomed getting that weight off my back. It was easy skinning on pretty bullet proof snow as we moved up Garnet Canyon toward the Tepee Pillar. The ramp leading up to Tepee Pillar was super runneled from freeze thaw cycles and we soon abandoned skinning in favor of boot packing. It was fairly easy going through early morning light as we continued toward the Tepee Pillar. We took a break just below Tepee Glacier and cached some more gear. Honestly, I feel like moving through Garnet Canyon to the top of the Tepee was the most arduous and time consuming section. It wasn't particularly hard, just endless rollovers and false flats. Reaching the Tepee Pillar at about 9:00 AM we went into full battle mode with axes and crampons as we crossed the Glencoe Col to the foot of Stettner Colouir.

Andrew crossing Glencoe Col above the Tepee.

At the base of the Stettner I looked up a super tight couloir with an ice filled base and steep, claustrophobic granite walls and realized it was here that I would enter a realm of climbing I'd never experienced before. The ice wasn't super technical, and I felt comfortable free climbing it. Still, an uncontrolled fall out the Stettner and you would launch out the mouth into the basin 1,500 feet below. It was a bit eerie moving over the ice and hearing runoff rushing just below the surface. Complicating things further, we began to catch the party of 3 ahead of us and had the added pleasure of dodging falling ice as we ascended the Stettner on our way to the Chevy Couloir which is an obvious branch point to climbers right.

Me free climbing up the Stettner.  I can hear the water rushing just below the ice.

We caught the climbers ahead at the base of the Chevy Couloir and had intentions of passing them but their lead had already set off up the couloir. Not wanting to sit in the cold and wait while the snowpack warmed, we contemplated the more challenging climb up the rest of the Stettner versus waiting to climb the Chevy. Deciding to avoid the rapidly warming East face and rock fall danger we decided to ascend the traditional Chevy couloir once the others cleared the lower belay anchor. Not entirely the best decision on our part, Andrew began lead just behind the climbers cleaning in the group ahead of us. Struggling for placements, about a third of the way up, and only 20 feet above Andrew, the climbers ahead kicked off a softball sized chunk of ice. Despite making himself small he took a direct hit to the right arm and curled into a ball as he shouted in pain. Worried he might be seriously hurt I kept him tight on belay and thought our climb might be over. After a few seconds and more than a couple expletives he continued up the climb to the belay station. Pretty damn cold from standing there so long, and with the feeling leaving my fingers, I unclipped from the lower belay station and set off up the Chevy. I tried to remember to always maintain 3 points of contact with ice and made sure my placement were bomber before moving forward. I was pretty happy to make climb without any takes or near falls and felt pretty comfortable with my gear and the terrain. At the belay station we made the decision to free climb the next pitch as there was only one major hump and we were running short on time.

Me heading over the hump in the Chevy.

Andrew free climbs the Chevy.

Topping out the Chevy Couloir we were now at the base of the Ford Couloir with only a bit more than 1,200 feet separating us from the summit.  We cached our rope at the top belay station and enjoyed the freedom of incredibly light packs as we set off on the final push.  

Moving up The Ford Couloir.

By now though, altitude and fatigue were beginning to take their toll and I was moving in about 25 to 35 step intervals before pausing to catch my breath.  It was mid morning and sweat was now dripping from my brow.  I paused and took my arms out of my jacket and continued climbing with only a T-shirt.    I was uneasy with the warmth and asked Andrew several times if he shared my concerns.  He reassured me and we continued up Ford Couloir toward the East shoulder.  A huge runnel cut down the center of the Ford and I made mental note of when to move to skiers right on the way down. I could tell Andrews shoulder was hurting with each plunge of the axe as he began to trail further behind.  Reaching the East shoulder I took in the view of the valley 7,000 feet below and realized we were only 200 feet below the summit.  Constantly assessing the safety of the snow pack, I again asked Andrew if he thought we had time to safely summit and ski in stable snow.  He again reassured me that there were no pinwheels or signs of creeping in the snow pack.  We pushed on up the East ridge for another 10 to 15 minutes.  Finally, 10 hours after shouldering our packs, we reached the summit at 11:30 AM.   

Summit 13,775 ft above sea level.

I've stared at that mountain with aspirations of climbing it since I first saw it 15 years ago.  Now, with the help of my friend and guide I finally got the summit seal.  

After taking a few pictures and downing the last of my calories and water until our cache at the bottom of Garnet Canyon, we both felt a since of urgency to get off the mountain before the afternoon heat really started to make things dangerous. Dropping in off the summit there were a lot of exposed rocks with all of the melt off and it was mostly jump turns and slide slipping for the first 50 feet or so.  On the East shoulder and into the Ford Couloir we had fantastic turns through pretty nice corn snow.  

Andrew on the East Ridge.

It was a bit steep but not uncomfortably so.  Still, there was no ripping down the couloir, my legs were tired and an uncontrolled fall would end poorly as you catapulted out the bottom of the couloir into the basin below.  Making sure to stay skiers right of the large runnel we continued down the Ford to the first rappel station were we had cached our rope on the way up.  Andrew's arm was pretty sore so I set up the ropes on some pretty solid tat from prior parties.  Rappelling in three 70 meter pitches we were pretty efficient moving down the Chevy.  

Unclipping from the rap station. 

Unfortunately the team ahead of us was painfully slow with rope management and there was nothing we could do but wait. As I rapped into the Stettner couloir at 1:30 pm I was pretty reassured that we had made it mostly out of the danger area.  Too soon for these thoughts I would soon learn.  Pulling our rope through at the bottom of the Chevy we T'd into the middle of the narrow Stettner couloir with its towering steep side walls on a 50 degree ice pitch.  What should have been

Rappeling down the Chevy.

a routine pull got pretty serious when our rope snagged up above.  Working both ends of the rope with our body weight neither of us were able to free the snag and neither Andrew, with his sore arm, nor me with my novice ice skills were too keen on free climbing up to free the snag.  In a final effort to free our rope we tied into opposite tails and tried to use our full body as counter weights to free the rope. Andrews tail came free and he was able to make it to a protected rappel station in the Stettner. Unfortunately, there was not enough rope for me to likewise down climb to him.  Using cordelletes tied together I was able to make an extended sling which I threw to Andrew who then clipped me into that anchor.  At that moment we heard the distinct clap of rocks breaking off up above.  Stranded, unprotected in the middle of the couloir there was no where for me to go.  Deciding to look and dodge I watched as a pumpkin sized rocked bounced off the walls of the couloir toward me.  I squared up and crouched like a soccer goalie and moved right as the rock crashed just to my left.  I dodged four smaller but still experience altering rocks as they passed precariously close.  Rope be damned, as soon as the rocks passed I untied myself from the rope and down climbed to Andrew at the protected rappel anchor below.  Our rope now free, there was huge urgency to get the hell down the Stettner couloir before more rocks crashed from above in the rapidly warming snow pack.  Working together we bombed down the next three rappels to the mouth of the Stettner and out of harms way without further incident.  Reaching the Tepee pillar I felt this was the last area where we were really at any risk.  The snow was past it's prime and super heavy.  It fell apart with each turn as wet sluff showered below my skis.  Exiting Tepee glacier and heading into Garnet Canyon we briefly stopped at our cache were I filled up on water from a stream on skiers left and downed my final GU.

Me at the base of Tepee Pillar.

Letting down my guard it was here that I  began to feel how completely wasted I was and how maybe I should have brought more than 900 calories for the trip.  Thankfully, the ski out of Garnet Canyon and out from slide paths was super mellow.  I suffered a bunch on the 4 mile hike out as I began to bonk from lack of calories.  The sun beating down didn't help either and I had to stop a couple of times to rest.  I wasn't yet thinking about the accomplishment of skiing the mountain.   More so, I just wanted to get the hell out of there and into the AC.  Finally, 15 hours after we started, we reached the truck.  Exhausted, I threw my gear into the truck bed fell into the passenger seat.  I think that's enough fun for the day.  Now that I'm over my fatigue and soreness I'm super stoked on the whole experience.  Climbing The Grand there is never really a super technical crux.  Rather, the challenge lies in the sum of the individual parts.  As we experienced, anything can go wrong up there and you have to stay constantly on your game.  We did it and I can't wait to not only go up it again, but to explore new challenges in ski mountaineering.  Thanks to Andrew Reynolds for being my guide and partner for the climb.  Couldn't have done it without him.  6/7/2014.