Running the Grand Teton

The Tetons in the morning. Photo Tanae Nelson

Running mountains. There are lot of runners who enjoy getting out on the trails and running up to a high point before, turning back and returning to their busy lives. For many running a peak is more than just exercise, me included. I deeply enjoy running up mountains, it adds more to a run than simply traveling from point a to b, it adds a destination, a purpose.

I grew up climbing mountains, traveling at a much different pace than I do now. One of the first major peaks I climbed was the Grand Teton, which I summited when I was 13 years old. All through my youth I dreamt of becoming a professional alpinist, I figured there would be no better life than traveling the world climbing peaks. Unfortunately just before my 17th birthday I had a bad fall while sport climbing that resulted in a fractured skull and several weeks in the hospital with post concussive syndrome. After the fall I never really got back on the horse. The few times I tried to climb the events leading up to the fall would overwhelm me, halting any progress. Climbing wasn’t fun anymore, it was scary.

The desire to climb peaks, however didn’t go away, it grew. I found different ways to get to high points; skiing, hiking and in the last 5 years, running. Over time, as the line between climbing and running blurred, I got more comfortable with exposure, particularly when moving quickly. In October last year, on a weekend when I could have been racing, I chose to race the clock instead of people and try to set a new fastest known time car-to summit-to car record on Idaho’s highest peak, Mount Borah. At the time it looked as though I had clearly broken the record, only to find out that Michael Tobin, a professional adventure racer, had set a faster time, but no one really recorded it. Regardless I was hooked on technical mountain running.

Heading Out.  Photo Tanae Nelson

This last weekend I confronted 12 years of fear and attempted to break a 28 year old car-to summit-to car record on the Grand Teton. On Saturday, armed with lots a beta, a single bottle waist pack, and a pair of La Sportiva Raptors, I set out from the Lupine Meadows trailhead as fast as I felt I could maintain, headed for the summit of the Grand. I had some help on the upper mountain from Brian Harder. He knows the mountain very well, and since I hadn’t been up the Owen Spaulding Route, it was invaluable to have Brian showing me the route. More importantly I felt I needed Brian’s support on the technical and very exposed sections of the Grand in case I froze. We summited in 2:10:50, took a few pictures, and began the descent 50 seconds later.

Near the Upper Saddle.  Photo Brian Harder

On the Summit.  Photo Brian Harder

I wrote a detailed report of the the route including splits here. Brian showed me back to where I met him above the lower saddle, and then I again took off solo, moving as fast as I could. I met my wonderful wife in the parking lot 3:33:02 after I left. We took some pictures to verify the effort and waited for Brian to finish his descent. I was thrilled with the time I was able to post on my “first try” at the record on the Grand. The 28 year old 3:07:00 set by Bryce Thatcher still stands, but it will be something I continue to work on. For me things have come full circle, I was able to face and manage fears of falling while climbing on the mountain that was my first. It was a type of rebirth into the alpine. Even though I walked funny with sore legs for a few days, I can’t wait for the chance to get back up there. At a group run a few nights ago I was asked, ” is the Grand actuallyrunnable?” My response, ” depends on your definition of runnable”! I have found that at times running mountains involves walking, sometimes scrambling, at times even sliding on snow. Mountain running boils down to be moving quickly and efficiently in the mountains, which has it’s own challenges and rewards. For me the Grand Teton is the epitome of mountain running, a place I will go back to often.

Finished…and very happy.  Photo Tanae Nelson

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