Best American Adventures: Climb the Grand Teton

We've just updated our popular America's
Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking,
heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure
for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Doug Schnitzspahn; Photograph by Greg Von Doersten, Aurora Photos

Lording over the surrounding Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem at 13,770 feet (4,197 meters), the elegant Grand Teton
demands to be summited. Lucky there are countless routes up the iconic
peak for climbers of all abilities. In fact, it’s the ideal technical
peak for everyone from alpinists looking for new challenges to average
folks who just want to be guided to the top.

The
most popular route, the Exum Ridge, is an absolute beauty, consisting
of incredibly exposed 5.4 climbing that is easy enough for someone with
very little experience or a first alpine climb, yet it’s so beautiful
that it keeps even hardened rock dogs coming back for more. Those who
want more of a challenge can climb the entire Direct Exum Ridge, which
begins lower down and requires more difficult 5.7 climbing. For even
more seasoned climbers, the North Ridge is a dream trip, encompassing
5.8 climbing on another exposed route. But no matter your experience
level or how many times you have stood on top, the view is one of the
best in the West, surveying three states, with the other peaks of the
Tetons at your feet, and stretching north across the massive caldera of
Yellowstone National Park.

Need to Know: Exum Mountain Guides (www.exumguides.com) offers a four-day Classic Grand Teton Climb, starting at $475.