I got out to scope out a line I’ve been wanting to ski on Fairshare Tower yesterday, an obscure peak/point that sits between Disappointment Peak and the Grand Teton. The sickter line I’ve been eyeballing isn’t quite ready yet, but my partner and I still had a fun day skiing from near the summit. Here are some pics and a quick recap from the day.
John Walker enters Garnet Canyon. The weather looked to be clearing
but clouds and cold winds moved in and out of the peaks all day.
Luckly our climb was south facing and remained in the sun.
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From a col, we turned west and climbed through a cliffband
with lots of spindrift running over it. We hoped we’d be
able to keep our skis on through this section on the way down.
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The slope steepened and felt pretty bomber, but we still found
isolated pockets of sugar snow and wind slab to keep us on our toes.
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John nearing our highpoint and in front of the Watchtower and Nez Perce.
The views from our high point have to be some of the best in the Tetons.
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The Grand Teton looks enormous from here, but it’s summit of only 2500′ higher.
This image is three photos stitched together.
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John Walker in front of the Middle Teton.
Magically, the winds died down considerably as we transitioned to ski.
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Balaclava weather up high, but the sun sure feels good.
I got some good POV footage from this descent, stay tuned.
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We dropped to the north from the col…and into the darkside.
I kicked off a small slab skiing down this section, nothing too gnarly though.
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Grand Teton from Delta Lake.
It’s warmer here in the summer, but I prefer the views in the winter.
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Now we’re talking! Good stuff Steve!
Great pictures. Looks like you had fun
Fantastic Photos Steve, Looks Like You Guys Had An Excellent Adventure, How Did It Go On That Little Cliff Band On The Way Back Down ?
Way to go South Dakota! Looks like a great day!
JT…one of us was able to keep our skis on, ding some edges and sidestep through it quickly, while one of us put on crampons, downclimbed and still has immaculate bases and edges.
Steve…this brings back memories when four of us skied Fairshare Tower a few years ago. Ed and Brian skied from the summit near the line of ascent down to the col and my brother and I ventured out onto an elegant line down the north east ridge. It kind of looks like a miniature NE Ridge of Moran. I believe you were up in that area on the same day trying the Koven or something further up the Teton Glacier.
jared…thanks for the recap. hearing of you guys skiing this peak got me interested in it more. i think the day you were up there was the day i skied the koven with harder.
http://www.tetonat.com/videos/koven-couloir-mount-owen/
ed sent me some photos after seeing this post and i will definitely return to play on this feature in the future. i’m wondering after the top section, if you guys skied the way, way skiers left line lower down that traverses to the left, follows the ridge…some turns with big exposure on the left…and then comes back to the right and into the couloir quite a bit further down from the col. looks sick (not quite ready yet), but pretty traversey and techy as well. kinda sounds like you may have.
it’s amazing how much stuff there really is to ski in the tetons when you just start poking around more.
Yes, that is the line. You describe it well! I remember it being technical traversing skiers left down through the cliff bands near the top. The first crux is getting through the choke of the upper cliff band. That ridge proper is a sure wild place to be making turns. Really cool line!
rad jared. you and your brother definitely have an eye for the sicky lines.