The Grand Teton, Picture below taken Wednesday, August 20, 2025
The Grand Teton has been on my bucket list for some time after completing the Colorado 14ers 10 years ago with the summit of Capitol Peak. I was looking for something challenging that could incorporate my route finding skills from the 14ers and my rock climbing skills from my years of technical climbing. This created a bit of a conundrum with the Grand Teton because with any technical climb, you need a partner with equal or better skills than you to help belay. After asking around for some time if anyone was interested in joining me, and turning down several who had no idea about the technical nature of what I was seeking, I asked a caving expert from our church, Grace Lutheran in Little Rock, if he had any interest in the Grand Teton. He had already completed a guided hike of Mount Rainier many years ago and continues caving to this day. Shaun Baker quickly got back with me and said, "Yes, that sounds like fun!" He said he had the technical skill but had never done a high alpine climb before and so this started to interest him. Both of our talents started to mesh well as most of my experience was in high alpine environments with route finding capability and his with technical rigging. You need both to climb the Grand Teton.
