Mt. Owen - 1993.

Mount Owen is a cool mountain. It was the last of the major Tetons to be climbed, and I think it's the hardest of the Tetons I've climbed. The rock climbing isn't so bad--this first time we climbed it, I think we only roped up for one pitch, but there is a lot of fourth-class scrambling, and it's a long climb--longer than the Grand.

The campsite is up on the moraine between the north face of the Grand Teton and Mount Owen. The first two-thirds of the hike to get there passes through Surprise Lake and Ampitheater Lake, and is a fairly pleasant hike through pine forests. After climbing out of the Ampitheater Lake bowl, however, the trail leads to the moraine, and slogging a 45-lb pack up the mountains of broken boulders is tough. I remember that first year thinking that the moraine went on forever. It was like one of those peaks that you keep thinking is just beyond the next skyline; the glacier must have retreated in waves, as it seemed like each time I would reach the crest of one huge pile of rock, I could see a valley and another huge wave of broken rock ahead still to be climbed.

We eventually reached the topmost edge of the glacier and settled in for the night. It's really a beautiful campsite, nestled between the Grand and Owen, just below the huge glacier. In late summer, the glacier looks imposing as it rises to meet the near-vertical walls leading up to the North Face of the Grand and the Valhalla Traverse. The campsite is close enough to the peaks that the sun sets early, and cold wind blows down across the glacier. I don't remember anything about the night, but I'm sure we retired early.

We woke early and scrambled up towards the Koven couloir. I remember that the rocks were wet, and that the climbing was a little uncomfortable until we reached the ridgeline between Owen and Teewinot to the East. At this point, we roped up and climbed a pitch right next to a waterfall to gain the wide, snowy ledge below the summit block. By this time the sun was up, and it was shaping up to be a nice day. The route crosses the large snowfield on the vast ledge diagonally up and around to the South face of the summit block. The view is amazing--the north face of the Grand is close, and, as always, the Grand looks huge, massive. It towers above all the other peaks surrounding it, and its wide, blocky structure and sheer north walls make it quite a sight from Owen. On Owen, the snowfield we had just gained access to extends from the summit block down to the edge of a large cliff leading down to the glacier below. I think Clinton told us about how he got to this point once in the past, and the snow looked really soft. Before proceeding, he roped up with his partner, and had his partner belay him. As he was traversing the soft snow, the snow he was standing on broke away in a huge slab and slid off the cliff, taking him with it. He ended up dangling from the belay rope. He said they didn't go any further that day.

We angled up the snowfield. I remember this being enjoyable. The feeling is very airy, the snow angle isn't too steep, and the view is amazing. Aaron led up the chockstone chimney on the summit block. He got to the top, looked down, scratched his chin, and said: "Well, maybe we should have belayed that." I was carrying the rope, so there was no choice but to climb it. I don't remember it being too bad, and after a short scramble we were on the summit, basking in the sun.