Jimmy Chin’s Trifecta Route.
Click here for larger image.
Well, on occasions I do, but when I hear about days like the following, I feel like I’m slow as molasses. Photographer, skier/climber and The North Face sponsored athlete, Jimmy Chin shot me an email last week breaking down his recent (last Friday) light and fast mission to climb and ski the Grand, Middle and South Teton. It only took him 10:55 to nail the three high points of Garnet Canyon…car-to-car.
- 1:40am Leave Lupine Meadows Trailhead,
- 5:00am Base of Stettner Couloir,
- 6:40am Top of Grand Teton,
- 6:45am Skiing Ford Couloir,
- 7:15am Downclimb Chevy Couloir,
- 8:45am Bottom of North Ridge on Middle Teton,
- 9:45am Top of Middle Teton,
- 10:00am Ski Southwest Couloir,
- 11:15am Top of South Teton,
- 11:20am Ski East Ridge of South Teton,
- 12:35pm Back at Lupine Meadows Trailhead.
Some finer points.
- No caches,
- No ropes,
- Solo,
- Carried everything from car and back,
- 2 liters of water,
- 2 quad espressos,
- 4 Lara Bars,
- Three day old banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Pearl St,
- 1/2 ham and cheese sandwich,
- 10 GU’s.
Photo by Jimmy Chin. Click for larger image.
Damn, Son…..You could say the bar is currently set in a high position.
What boots and skis/bindings did he lug up there?
No doubt.
I’d be fun to try…but I’ve never climbed the N Ridge of the Middle…so soloing it might not be for me. My question is if he wore his AT boots from the TH. Transitions can sometimes be big time wasters.
Jimmy stopped by for a quick chat as we were getting ready to head up the hill. He was wearing running shoes with skis and boots on his pack. Super-bad-ass feat. Seems even more so now that I wussed out of the NW Ice couloir after viewing the traverse into that and the N. Ridge.
Were you looking to ski the NW? Someone at the shop said they saw some tracks that looked like it had been skied…but I had my doubts.
We hoped to climb the NW and ski the SW but that didn’t work out. Didn’t see any ski tracks in the NW while we were there on Friday & Saturday either. It looked like it was getting pretty soft. Maybe someone skied it Sunday?
I’m thinking not. Thanks Kartch!
Wowzers. Legitimate inspiring stuff. I used to run 4:20 miles, but no way could I pull that feat described above.
Yo Steve,
Speaking of light and fast…do you a carry beacon, probe and shovel in the summer? I went out last weekend and left the gear at the truck…just wondering if anyone else thinks the same about skiing lines early in the morning on summer missions.
Thanks!
Hi Rita!
Tis the season to go sans avy gear. I’m even wearing tennies for the approach now.
S
From Jimmy:
Running shoes from the car. Yeah, transitions took time, but in the early morning when the snow is frozen you can cruise pretty quick up the Meadows. I actually wore running shoes all the way to the base of the Teepee. Their good for running down the trail at the end of the day too!
Boots: Mega Rides
Skis: Havoc with Dynafit Bindings
Pole: 1 Whippet, 1 Carbon Fiber BD pole
Crampons: Charlet Moser Darts
Tools: Charlet Moser Aztar X’s
Thanks for the true inspiration, Jimmy and thanks Randosteve, for sharing it with us!
I read this post last night and my mouth is still agape from respect and belwilderment of such an accompishment. Unbelievable
Nice work Jimmy!
Does Rolo ski? If not, let’s teach him.
My buddy Rob and I were on the summit of the middle when Jimmy summited the Middle. We shook hands and he skied off. When we later saw his tracks on the South we were impressed–didn’t know he had already skied the Grand! Studly.
Wow, thats pretty bad ass!
Steve, do you know if Jimmy did any sweet jumps during his speed mission? If so he could be on the cutting edge of a whole new sport- “Speed Free Ski Mountaineering”!
Did he wear any neon ski attire during his jumps? Perhaps he could be at the cutting edge of “Retro-1980s Style North American Speed Free Ski Mountaineering”
I think a skin/race suit would have taken at least a half hour off his time.
What’s left for next year? Ski the Grand Reverse. Spooky Face, SE on South, NW on Middle, Hossack McGowan, NE Snowfields, Teewinot. Obviously some serious up down and around abouts, but it won’t surprise me when it happens.
THAT…would truly be…SICK!!!