Van Sickle - Ballys linkup

Lunch Walk

Austin SUP

Afternoon Ride

Morning Ride

Edit: GPS is wonky, not that much gain

What a linkup! Have been wanting to do the Dike on Middle for a long time. It's definitely obscure and does not see many ascents. Getting to the base of the route was heady, with a scary bergshrund stem onto the rock. Glad I had axe and pons for this spot. Kinda spicy solo. The Dike steepens in a few spots and the exposure is real. Generally positive holds though. I was expecting some jingus getting around the Dike Pinnacle, but I nailed it, finding a small downclimb into the gully and mellow scrambling up to the notch behind the Dike Pinnacle. Axe and pons got me across the snow bridge. Though I only used them for a total of 5 mins the entire day, i was glad I had them. Snow scares me. The upper east face of Middle is awesome, and doesnt seem to see many climbers.

Friendly Jackson local named Banner showed me the loose descent gully off Middle. Hot and sloggy going up South. Was feeling good at the top and weather was bluebird so I decided to commit to the traverse. Awesome scrambling up there! The Ice Cream Cone was a highlight. Very exciting as an OS solo. The rest of the ridge went well, all the way to the col at the bottom of Nez Perce.

NP is complex, and I'd wished I'd read up a little more about the route beforehand. Spent a lot of energy route finding through here, but luckily the route was well cairned. The descent went well, as I was very unsure about it at first because it looks like it for sure cliffs out, but some subtle connecting ledges led me down into the endless talus in South Fork of Garnet. Commence sloggy hot jog down the crowded trail. Epic day!

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David Alexander

Middle Teton (Dike Route)》South Teton》Cloudveil Traverse》Nez Perce

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Van Sickle - Ballys linkup

Lunch Walk

Austin SUP

Afternoon Ride

Morning Ride

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