Grand Teton – Backpack & Climb

Most importantly, the Ghost Wisperer is a windshirt, not a rain jacket.

Thanks Ben, good point.

Colorado weather is pretty predictable so I hardly carry a rain jacket. Thus I thought the softshell+ghost whisper would be enough. Would something like the OR Helium II suffice?

Kristen, there are plenty of good rain jackets. The OR Helium II is a fine choice, I think, assuming it fits all your climbing needs, which I think it will.
Sounds like a fun trip.

Thanks Ben, I'll check out the Helium

I'd bring a rain jacket for sure, and your puffy/hat/gloves are not overkill. A major issue with the Grand is that the raps on the Owen-Spaulding descent get crowded and you might have no choice but to hunker down and get rained on if people are ahead and moving slow. The Helium II does not work well with a helmet, if you climb often it might be worth spending more on a proper alpine shell.

The Moraine CG has some sites which are reasonably sheltered by boulders, but I'd still guy the heck out of that Rainbow in case a storm rolls in the afternoon of summit day.

In my book the PAS is superfluous for alpine stuff; just tie in with the rope. Even if you're not swapping leads re-stacking the rope is usually faster than swapping ends.

Are you going to climb in the Wildcats? Soloing the fourth class stuff quickly makes a big difference summiting before the afternoon storms (and guided crowds). It could well be worth carrying a pair of tighter approach shoes up toe Moraine and using that one pair of shoes for the climb.

The pack question is tricky. If you'll be doing plenty of backpack in to climb trips it's hard to beat a Cilogear as they strip down easily and climb well. HMG might be a good option if you'll be doing more backpacking than climbing. The Porter cinches down well, but not as small as the Cilo packs. The Epic isn't a bad option because you get some good durability for that extra weight.

David, thanks very much for the info, much appreciated!

I just put on the Helium II and it fit over my helmet, a little snug though be doable.

The tarptent is new for me so I haven't tested it in severe winds, I'll add some more guy lines, and look into using hiking poles for stability. I also have a Big Agnes Slater 2p if that would be better?

I always like a PAS for anchoring in at rappel stations, but a simple sling would suffice

We do plan to solo as much class 4 as we can for speed. I have a pair of Scarpa Approach Shoes that just don't fit quite right, I can't make it more than a few miles with them, I think I'd prefer my trail runners for the apporach. I have used the Wildcats on class 3/4 before and they worked, but having climbing shoes would be nice. Can't decide…

I did the complete Exum a few years back but here are my thoughts.

I carried a bear can to make the rangers happy. If doing so again, I would just leave it. There are marmots that know where the good campsites are and they will be waiting so know how to keep them away.

We all carried in large packs and climbed with ~30L packs that we also brought. I would do this again.

The Ghost Whisperer will be fine for any brief rain you might encounter. They tend to be short and intense. The Helium will also do fine. I don't really like the Ferrosi; too heavy for not much wind resistance. I climbed in an eVent rainshell all day and I was fine. If I did it again, I would take a Houdini windshell (the old one that didn't suck) and the lightest rain shell I could find.

It's the Moraine CG (because it's literally a moraine). Bring guylines to secure the tent because it gets windy up there and Rainbows suck in the wind.

Leave the PAS behind. Use a sling for your personal anchor when first getting on rappel. Cordalette is not necessary. The upper is all simulclimbing. Radios were nice to have on the Grand. I usually don't like them when climbing.

We didn't need boots for snow gear in early August. All done in trail runners and rock shoes.

Hopefully you'll be able to team up with someone else for the double rope rap. A 60m won't do it. Might want to throw a few pieces of rock pro in there too. I bet gear to 1" and half a set of nuts would be fine. A #1 mastercam or equiv was nice on one of the slab pitches.

I was happy to have fleece gloves on the morning approach and the first belay.

thanks Jeff!

so you brought rock climbing shoes then? The Upper is hard enough that you wouldn't wear trail runners or approach shoes?

I'm going with two rope teams in my group. So we'll have three full ropes and two alpine racks.

I haven't been too impressed with the Ferrosi either, despite all the raving reviews.

The cordellete is a short 1' prussik for the rappels.

What did you have in your 30L pack during the climb? I can fit 1L water, shoes, puffy, raincoat, headlamp, food, gloves in the Sea2Summit day pack. I plan to wear the rope backpack style.

We had the rock shoes for the lower exum and we wore them all the way up. You could do it in trail runners, but there are a couple of slabby moves where rock shoes were nice. They helped us move fast.

The pack usually had one of the pairs of shoes, a light down jacket, headlamp, some food, 2L water, first aid kit. Also stuffed all the climbing gear in there on the descent. You could backpack the rope. The descent took longer than we thought.

just got back from the trip. we had a weather storm that was going to sock-in the mountains for a few days. So we decided to attempt a car to car summit bid. We started hiking at 11pm but were so exhausted from waking early that morning and driving to wyoming that we turned around at 6am just below the lower saddle. We also got off trail and had to re-gain 800' of elevation which killed everyone's motivation.

I'm sure I'll be heading back, what an impressive mountain.

thanks everyone for the help!