Middle Teton - Southwest Couloir Route

 Carly Kovacik and I summited Middle Teton via the southwest couloir on September 17th. The first four miles consisted of steep hiking through a forest. Views rapidly opened up once we reached Garnet Canyon. We traversed the north wall of the canyon, and then performed a couple of stream crossings in between boulder hopping. Boulder scrambling and hopping would be a prominent part of the remainder of our day, as sections of flat ground or rock slabs were few and far between as we ascended toward the saddle separating South and Middle Teton. As we continued our journey up canyon, we passed a few dwindling/nearly extinct glaciers, and also scrambled past a couple of minor water falls. We finally reached the previously mentioned saddle, and then turned north toward Middle Teton and the southwest couloir. 

We passed the top of a glacier/permanent snowfield, which gave way to a relatively flat bench that was followed by the entrance into the couloir. A steep ascent followed, mainly on loose rock and dirt. However, the loosest sections could be avoided by staying close to solid rock along the sidewalls of the couloir. In addition, a few class 3/4 climbing moves were occasionally used, particularly halfway up the couloir due to a chockstone-like feature blocking further progress upwards. We got around that crux move, and found ourselves facing an abyss off the northwest flank of Middle Teton. The vertical relief in elevation off the north side of the mountain was dramatic. We continued scrambling up to the final summit block, and finally acquired the top. This was the most exposed summit I've experienced while in the mountains, though the exposure wasn't precarious...just airy. 

After taking in the incredible views of Grand Teton, South Teton, surrounding Cathedral Group peaks, and the lower valleys located east and west, we began a cautious progressive descent down the mountain. As alluded to before, the crux move was the class 3/4 down climb from the chockstone. There were good foot placements for the crux move, which allowed us to breeze on through the last remaining technical obstacle. The remainder of our adventure involved route finding through boulder fields. We arrived back at the trailhead about an hour past sunset. Total elevation gain for Middle Teton from Lupine Meadow was around 6000 feet. Total mileage was between 12 and 13 miles. 

YouTube video is here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-sgDphgKwg]. Google map location is here.