GRand tetons
trip report ‘24
Day 1 – Welcome to Altitude
We woke at 5:30 AM to get a head start. I’d spent the night before packing while staring up at the Tetons for the first time—beautiful, but intimidating. I didn’t understand what high elevation would feel like until the hike started. Within a few hundred feet, I could barely breathe. Adrian’s face said it all: full disappointment. The trail was steep, and my body wasn’t ready for the lack-of oxygen. What made it worse was that we had to do it all twice—hauling 70+ lb packs full of food and gear to get us through the week.
By late afternoon, camp was finally set up. It was then we encountered what Adrian jokingly called the “Skin Walker”—a fearless 4- to 5-year-old doe that wandered into camp and seemed to materialize and vanish at will. She would be a recurring presence throughout the trip. We filtered water just 20 yards from camp while she watched from the brush. Dinner was my standard fare: tuna and rice burritos. It wasn’t glamorous, but after the day we had, it was perfect. I crawled into my tent exhausted, the mountains already reminding me who was in charge.
Day 2 – Window Way and the Altitude Wall
I was jolted awake around 1:30 AM by a loud sniffing noise brushing up against my tent. My first thought: bear. I froze, heart pounding, only to realize it was just the same weird deer eating grass right outside. This happened again at 4:30 AM and then 6:45 AM. So much for sleep. After a quick breakfast of protein oatmeal, we spent the morning touching up camp. Around 1 PM, we headed toward the scree slopes that looked about 200 feet tall from camp—turns out they were closer to 500.
Climbing up was brutal, but it paid off when we discovered a new cave entrance embedded in a cliff face. We named it “Window Way” because it hugged the rock wall and featured three windows overlooking the valley below. We marked the point for future mapping, then attempted a push further up the valley through a snowy couloir. After 30 minutes of unstable terrain and sketchy climbing, we bailed and headed for the saddle instead. That’s when the altitude really hit—I nearly passed out reaching 10,333 feet just 36 hours after arriving from 330 feet. The views from the ridge made the pain worth it. We spent the rest of the afternoon ridge walking and checking LIDAR points. Back at camp, Niles arrived unexpectedly, rounding out the evening with good company.
Day 3 – Crystal Rooms and Cold Leads
Camp was already becoming a symphony of nature. The weird deer loitered, and a mouse in a log near my tent kept digging for food, waking me repeatedly. Everyone got up around 7:30 AM. By 10, Sam and Dustin arrived, followed by Pete, who brought gear but didn’t stay. It felt like the real start of the expedition. We geared up for our first alpine cave: I put on base layers, a fleece suit, and my cave suit over that. With temps inside hovering around 33–36°F, layering right was essential.
We reached the entrance around 12:30 PM and rappelled 20 feet onto a thawed ice plug into the Crystal Room—a stunning chamber with ice formations unlike anything I’d seen. The cave opened into massive walking passages, and after some time we quickly hit a breakdown junction. I didn’t even try to squeeze through—I knew I wouldn’t fit. Adrian gave me hell for it but couldn’t fit either until Sam made it through and helped shift the breakdown. While they explored that, Niles, Dustin, and I surveyed a phreatic tube for the rest of the day. We reconnected at 8:30 PM with 1,617 feet of passage mapped—over a mile documented within a week. Two pine martens watched us from nearby tubes at the entrance. We hiked back to camp, cold but buzzing.
Day 4 – The Crew Assembles
We started the day gathered around the fire pit, making breakfast and prepping for the final crew arrivals. Dustin, Sam, and Adrian headed down early to help with gear while Niles and I followed soon after. On the way, we ran into Patrick carrying a message: I was to stay up top due to concerns about my acclimation. Honestly, they were right—I wasn’t ready for more punishment just yet.
So I turned back with Patrick, used the extra time to organize food and charge batteries, and let my body catch up. Throughout the afternoon, James, Beth, Alec, Mark, Josh, and Pete filtered into camp. Later, the “Old Timers”—Jeb, Bob, and Warren, original explorers of these caves—arrived to share stories and beta. As night fell, we swapped stories around the fire, the kind only caves and mountains can inspire. Jason arrived at 11 PM, just in time for a good night’s sleep before our big push.
Day 5 – Vertical Work and Golden Light
Camp came alive early, buzzing with energy and anticipation. Jason, Niles, and I were heading into the same cave as James, Beth, and Sam. The hike was rough, involving multiple scree slopes, but the views of Grand Teton made every step worth it. Once inside the cave, we faced a series of tight crawls and extremely narrow rope drops—two of them were claustrophobic nightmares, especially with gear bags.
After the fifth drop and ten rebelays, we split into teams. Jason, Niles, and I tackled a lead from last year that dropped into a paleo borehole. It had great potential, and we mapped 550 feet with several promising leads left. The exit was faster than expected—partly due to adrenaline, partly due to the incredible alpine glow illuminating Grand Teton. As we returned to camp, Zach had arrived, and we gathered for dinner. Spirits were high—this expedition was shaping up better than anyone hoped.
Day 6 – Maze of the Infeeder
Cody, Dustin’s brother, arrived late the night before. By morning, the Old Timers began their descent, their job here done. Our team for the day—Adrian, Zach, and I—headed into the lower entrance of the system. This cave was a maze, but Adrian knew it well. We pushed through tight crawls and complex rope drops until we arrived at a towering dome: the Infeeder, a 250-foot monster.
I felt surprisingly strong and zipped up the rope series to a survey lead. The bric worked fine at first, but an iron band in the rock interfered, so we had to abort the survey. Still, we mapped 150 feet and found 350–500 feet of new passage. One area had a 50-foot-long ceiling coated in moon milk. We pushed a breakdown pile with good air and marked it as a dig lead. The exit was easy, but the one-mile uphill hike back to camp reminded us that “easy” is relative.
Day 7 – Weather, Wet, and Gear Drops
A windstorm hit at 1:30 AM, sounding like a freight train outside my tent. The rain fly flapped violently, It sounded like hail bounced off the fabric. Somehow the tent held, and I got a few hours of sleep. Jason had to leave for work, and Pete stayed in camp feeling under the weather. Patrick, Adrian, Niles, and I hauled gear to the upper plateau system.
The mission was grueling: up scree slopes, through tight crawls and squeezes, and finally to the 11th drop. We dropped our packs, then turned back. I got turned around briefly and discovered a new infeeding dome, emerging 80 feet above where I meant to be. It was a wild, wet series of climbs that left us tired but satisfied. We passed the camp team on their descent and let them know where we’d stashed the gear. Camp that night was quieter than usual. My sleeping bag never felt better.
Day 8 – Crevasse and Climber Chatter
I woke sore and exhausted, planning to rest. But a potential new cave entrance on a cliff face changed that. After saying goodbye to Niles, Sam, and Zach, I joined Adrian, Cody, and James for one more scouting trip. We rigged a 30-foot rappel from a boulder and dropped into what looked promising—only to find a breakdown choke after 30 feet.
Our radios buzzed with climbers from Grand Teton, confused by our chatter. We laughed and hiked on, splitting up to scout more leads. I explored exposed limestone cliffs solo, checking holes from above, then rejoined Cody and Adrian for more ridge walking. We found a deep drainage pit—over 100 feet—that might become “Crevasse Cave.” As the sun dipped, we hiked back to camp, headlamps leading the way. There we met Stephen, the newest team member. Dinner was hard-earned, and sleep came easy.
Day 9 – The Log Burns Bright
I woke up not feeling great—Pete’s cold seemed to have passed to me. Everyone else headed off to caves while I stayed back to charge electronics and hang out with Pete. The weird deer made a few visits, keeping things lively. Around 3 PM, James and Beth returned from their photo shoot, and the rest trickled back over the next couple of hours.
By dusk, the camp was full again. Adrian decided it was finally time for “the log,” a massive stump we’d been saving for the right night. We gathered around it, watching the flames until 10:30 PM—when we heard a whoop from the mountain. The cave camp team had returned early! Dustin came sprinting down the scree with stories of leads and re-reaching the breakdown pile. No new depth, but plenty of potential. Camp buzzed with energy again, and I finally crawled into bed at 1 AM.
Day 10 – Scooped and Scorched
Today, Dustin, Adrian, and I returned to the upper plateau cave to wrap up the lead that Jason, Niles, and I had left. After the fifth drop, we scooped a 300-foot lead without surveying—breaking our own rule. Karma caught us: it dead-ended. We returned to a T-junction and found a blasting airflow. Scooped again—same result. A breakdown slot with no way through.
We surveyed both sections and started derigging the entrance series. On the way out, we were treated to the clearest day yet. Grand Teton glowed orange in the late sun, a cinematic farewell to our final full day. We descended to camp where a glowing fire awaited. Our last dinner in the Tetons was one of reflection and awe.
Day 11 – The Afterglow
The whole camp slept in. Today was hike-down day. Everyone left at different times—some of the crew had a big through-trip planned. I hiked out early to get groceries. Dustin, Adrian, and I already had plans to return tomorrow for more ridge walking.
That night, Adrian’s parents hosted a backyard party for the whole crew. It was the perfect close: warm lights, food, laughter, and memories of the wild week we’d just had. This trip cemented bonds and built stories we’d be telling for years. Already can’t wait for next year.
