By Maurice Phipps
WEA courses have been taught in the Jedediah Wilderness Area of Wyoming for over thirty years, most often when the head office was in Paul Petzoldt’s Lodge in Alta at the entrance to Teton Canyon. WEA recently gave up the UFS Permit but it may be possible that the Forest Service is setting up some temporary days that may be available. Years ago WEA courses were 30 days long starting in June -- which meant that they included spring mountaineering. When talking about spring mountaineering, one would normally be including snow techniques. Global warming has affected the amount of snow so if you wish to include snow work for your course, then carefully consider your dates.
Western Carolina University (WCU) has been teaching courses in this area since 2000. In that year, expecting deep snow up at 9000 feet, we were disappointed to find less than one inch up at Skinny Dip Lake perched on the edge of the Wigwams Cirque – an old favorite spot from the Petzoldt days. Something of a misnomer, Skinny Dip Lake in spring has usually been covered in ice and snow. An August trip a long time ago revealed why the lake was so named – it was the only lake up there that you could immerse yourself in for more than a minute! The Skinny Dip Lake camp site is a favored one in Spring as it is well situated at around 9000 for a summit day of Table Mountain which has probably the most spectacular view (only obtained from the summit) of the lower forty eight states. There are also excellent snow slopes in the cirque to practice ice axe techniques.
Other great spots though are Battleship Mountain, Alaska Basin, Hurricane Pass and Granite Basin, though none of these places should be attempted in the snow season without prior reconnoitering and expertise in snow techniques to include ice axe, rope, snow belays, traveling on snow, camping, cooking in snow kitchens and an understanding of avalanche and moats. On our last trip when there was a lot of snow, we found snowshoes to be just extra weight for all but about two hours of the whole trip of 10 days. However the earlier in the season trips are planned, the bigger possibility that they may be of use but are limited to flatter sections of trail.
Our most WCU recent trip (2008), planned early (May 26th) because of the previous year’s exceptionally poor snowfall brought a surprise with 160% of normal snowfall – whatever “normal” is now. So instead of too little snow, we had too much, in fact more snow than I have ever seen for spring in the Tetons for 26 years. At the request of the Forest Service we changed our plans some to stay in Teton Canyon a couple of days as there had been significant snow fall the prior week creating more avalanche danger. Needless to say, it snowed or rained every day of the course but we completed the Steward course which was more focused to travel in this alpine region using snow techniques than a general Steward Course curriculum. We did summit Table Mountain and saw drifts more reminiscent of the Sahara Desert and holes so deep we couldn’t see the bottom. Students rated the course very highly. The spectacular scenery never fails to inspire the students and they never fail to inspire us with their enthusiasm even when things turn tough in this outstanding place.
For groups planning to use this area in the snow, some information from our most recent trip and experiences over the years may be of use - so here are some thoughts toward that end.
Permit
The UFS permit should be applied for very early. Be especially conscientious about filling out the required details of the permit. We also did a service project, documenting visitors that we saw whilst out there for the UFS. Over the years, they have been very helpful but do have a say in the requested routes and campsites. We made special efforts to point out that normal restrictions may not apply for example where some camping areas are off limits because of impact – as we were expecting those sites to be under several feet of snow. I sent several pictures from past trips to illustrate this.
Planning
There is an ENORMOUS amount of planning to ensure that you have “the right amount of equipment in the right place at the right time”. You are also working with three bureaucracies – your own, WEA, and the UFS, all with plenty of paperwork. A modified PERT chart can be found in an attachment which shows the steps required in planning.
We also had assistance from BYU Idaho because of my connections working with them when they were Ricks College many years ago. This solved our transportation problems from Idaho Falls Airport and a place to outfit and return for clean up. This year the two instructors and expedition doctor flew out early to reconnoiter our first proposed campsite and shop for food and gas. There is a huge new supermarket where we spent about $1000 on food and Yostmart Outdoor Store provided butane. We didn’t like the idea of the equipment truck taking out a large amount of gas. Three students drove out with the tents, stoves, ropes, ice axes, etc., for which we reimbursed gas costs. They made the trip into an “Out West Trip” stopping at other places like the City of Rocks and Yellowstone as part of a larger adventure for them.
Pre-trip meetings
We had two pre-trip meetings. The first meeting was to answer questions, show slides and actually show clothing and boots. The second meeting was just prior to the trip and we taught some basic situational leadership theory and how it would be documented in personal journals. They were given the field book and journal which have lots of WEA and technical information.
Equipment
All specialist equipment was provided including tents, food bags with cooking implements, butane stoves (one per person), bear bag lines, ice axes, snow pickets, snow shoes, maps, compasses, ropes (100 feet of 9mm), wooden boards for cooking insulators, weather radio, solar charging unit for cell phones, expedition first aid kit, and shovels (one per cook group). Groups cooked in pairs except for the instructors and doctor. If you are buying equipment, beware of “back orders”. We ordered three shovels from Liberty Mountain in February for the end of May delivery and three months after the expedition I still had not received them. This meant renting shovels. This also means that you must have a good cushion in your budget for this kind of thing (see also equipment and flight changes). We had a substantial amount of gear from past trips so the cost of equipment this year was minimal. It was budgeted into the field trip fee part of the costs.
Clothing personal equipment and boots
A complete list can be found in the attachments. Students brought their climbing gear – harness, three screw gate carabiners, 12 feet of webbing, two prussic loops and a helmet with them but were for the most part loaned from the university. Always pack in extras in the equipment truck for folks who forget them. Even with two sets of extras, we had to buy an extra helmet and use a Swiss Seat! We try and forbid down bags because getting them wet creates a potential hypothermia problem as you cannot dry down in the field, however there will always be someone who brings one. This brings us to the old adage “words mean nothing”. The sleeping bag demand usually hits someone’s “cloaking device”. Another one is booties. We insist in some kind of booties and of course man-made fiber would be better but is less easily found. We demand booties and over-boots. . In years past just booties were good as it got quite cold in the evenings when we were standing around on the snow or sat around in snow kitchens cooking. These days the booties get wet with the warmer temperatures so waterproof over-boots are a necessity.
It is great to be able to get mountaineering boots off in the evenings as when every day is on snow unless the boots are plastic, they leak. The students who leave their ‘cloaking devices’ on when this advice is given are usually later referred to as “men on the move” trying to keep their feet warm in the evening. The third issue that student’s don’t hear is about mountain boots. They actually need to see the type of boots – ones that have good lateral rigidity so steps can be kicked from the side and not slide off. The climbing is not that technical that totally stiff soled boots are needed. Good old-fashioned leather boots like my ten-year old Montrail boots are great. They were impregnated with silicone when they were made and I have sprayed them again several times so they really are quite waterproof even in several days of climbing in snow. Anything else doesn’t appear to work especially Gortex. If you treat Gortex, then it will not breath. No Gortex boots are waterproof. None! Plastic boots would keep feet dry but are less comfortable and expensive if the students are buying them just for this trip. So for the “bootie-less” cold wet feet it is a warm up on someone else’s belly or interesting improvisations with crocs, socks and plastic bags. No matter how much the boots issues are stressed, some students will act as if they were not there to hear it. This has been so over the last eight years.
Flight Arrangements
As we travel from North Carolina, some of us fly and some drive. If a pick-up is arranged from Idaho Falls or Jackson airport, then pre-trip information has to be given that includes the flight they need to book into the destination so only one pick-up is needed. This year one group of students changed their mind about driving a few weeks before which necessitated a BYUI van and considerably more cost - again this caused us to “dib” into our cushion once again. Of the four trips that we have done over the last four years, nobody actually arrived late for an airport pick-up, though there were some near misses.
Re-supply or Sherpas?
For a full two-week trip a re-supply of food and cooking gas would be necessary. In the past, we have descended to Teton Canyon from the Wigwams Cirque (Skinny Dip Lake) and had someone deliver the re-supply. In 2004 it was during a storm and lots of sleet. We rigged tarps over some of the campground tables but it was a tough re-supply. The 2000 and 2002 re-supplies were pleasant sunny experiences. This year as we had a shortened course of ten days, the plan was to have some volunteer “sherpas” carry our food up North Fork about two miles and 1000 feet to the first camp site as we didn’t want to descend for a re-supply. Ten days of food is 20 pounds per person, add this to an already very heavy pack and figure in that we are at 7000 feet in the canyon having just flown in from a low altitude. This would mean a “killer” first day. This plan changed unfortunately.
We had the “sherpas” there ready to go, but the Forest Service requested that we stay down in Teton Campground a couple of days because of the recent heavy snowfall. So, we waived goodbye to our “sherpas” and stayed those two days teaching cooking, bear bagging, group dynamics etc., and taking a hike up Alaska Basin. When it came time to head up North Fork, we decided to leave the food in the campground bear containers and send half the group back upon reaching the campsite. Normally the campsite was below the snowline – a nice spot on a Roche Moutonee (rock outcrop). This year it was way above the snow line so the half of the group that remained fixed the bear bag lines and constructed snow kitchens as we planned on staying here for two days. Fixing good bear lines can take a couple of hours. It was a big day for the students making two trips to get the food.
Snow techniques
Over the years at this time of year, we have never needed crampons. We did take snowshoes because of the huge amount of snow this year but only used them for the last hour to the Roche Moutonee Camp on our first ascent day. Overall the sense of the group was that we didn’t need them and they were just extra weight. We took two snow pickets and this year only used them for a belay on the lake. The only place we could get down to water was on Skinny Dip Lake, about four feet down. Underwater, there were another four feet of snow and interestingly no ice. Anyone falling into that hole would have been a “goner”, so we rigged a belay with a snow picket and had a rule about there always being two people when getting water. A previous year, we used the pickets as fixed belays to descend a steep snow slope down into South Leigh Canyon.
Next to Skinny Dip lake is a perfect slope for practicing ice axe technique. We have used this each year except in 2000 when we had to hike higher to find snow as it was later in June. Across the cirque the slopes below the ridge are good for teaching the sliding middleman axe and rope technique. To access these slopes requires crossing a moat over the creek flowing out of the cirque. The same spot has to be crossed when doing Table Mountain except instead of heading for the ridge you traverse round into the basin below Table. This traverse is just above the tree line but a fall would be onto a very steep slope into the trees below, so some protection is needed. The sliding middleman is a good technique here as it is quite fast but still protects everyone.
We also used the sliding middleman to descend once off the summit of Table. Normal years, we hike down from the summit to the edge of the large cornice where there is a great glissade. Three or four glissades later will bring you back to the traverse into the Wigwams Cirque. This year the snow conditions were too hard higher up or too soft further down, so we were plunge stepping most of the way back. The other snow technique that we taught was the boot axe belay, which is useful for lowering someone on a steep slope. We actually used this to lower someone who hadn’t the confidence to glissade off Battleship Mountain in 2002. Another technique that we used in 2002 was prussiking as we set lines up through a cliff band to climb out of the Roaring Fork Valley which required a lead, then fixed ropes for the group. They found it hard to prussic efficiently, so advanced practice with this is a good idea. If they try and climb without actually using the rope to pull on, it becomes a slow process. We used fixed ropes this year to climb up the steep snow slope to Skinny Dip Lake. This required four fixed 100-foot ropes. This was a big day with the big packs and 8 days worth of food. Some students found this to be the toughest thing we did.
In addition to snow techniques we teach “three men on a rope” which is basic travel over steep ground (rocks) with a rope. This year we did not use this at all, in 2004, we used this to get to the top of the Wigwam’s ridge after we stepped off the snow onto talus to reach the top of the ridge.
Camping
The regular WEA way applies with the camping only this is serious bear country - they are coming out of hibernation at this time, along with moose and mountain lion. We have seen cougar tracks in the cirque and bear tracks. The most bear tracks we have seen were in Roaring Fork in 2004. We have had the policy of having a “tent city” – everyone camping close. Everyone had a bear spray canister this year. We have eyes on the back of our helmets – someone said that it may fool the cougars for a second or so. Social visits to the bathroom were encouraged. We always camped well uphill of the food lines. Getting food lines high enough was hard as with the weight on the thin lines, they would stretch out even though we though we had them very high and trucker hitched for tightness. This meant digging the snow base away about four feet so the bags were high enough. Perhaps the answer is to carry 9mm bear lines…. but that is more weight. Doing the right thing with food hanging is a must however.
Camping on snow necessitated taking four season tents. In 2000, we took some three-season tents that collapsed under the weight of the snow we had in a storm. Everyone slept warm. We did have 4am starts for the days we were doing summits, in fact 3:45am one day as the group couldn’t hit the trail by 5am on the practice day. Lucky for us we had those extra fifteen minutes as all we had on the summit of Table Mountain was 15 minutes before the storm came in and obliterated the view of the Grand. Once up to the Skinny Dip site at 9000, we could travel with daypacks.
Cooking
We did Total Food Planning, which the students seemed to enjoy. We could have saved some weight by taking freeze -dried food and this would be a definite consideration for future trips. Regular food however is very much less expensive. The Driggs supermarket does not stock freeze dried food – it is available at Yostmark but of course at great expense. We took some nine by nine inch varnished wooden boards to use for cooking on the snow as an insulator to stand the stoves on or on which to place cups of food.
The students enjoyed making snow kitchens, which in turn made cooking a lot more enjoyable. The cooking areas were always situated downhill of the tent area. Good organization skills were required in that some evenings we were cooking the evening meal, breakfast and lunch for the day after.
You may have to spend some time in camp – bank on some storms where you can’t move so you need some spare days. In 2002 we had a four-day storm while we were up on the snow at Skinny Dip Lake – this prevented us from climbing Table Mountain during the first week. We rigged a large tarp, built a large snow cave and spent a lot of time covering the rest of the WEA curriculum and making hot chocolate. Take large quantities of hot chocolate!
Water
The only place that we have camped where there wasn’t water from a stream, lake or melting snow was on the side of Battleship Mountain. Here we made water “stills” to provide enough water to enable melting snow more easily and not scorching it. They consisted of black plastic draped over a large rock set to drip into a cook pot. Handfuls of snow were stuck onto the plastic and left through the day to melt.
Wildlife - bear cougar, ground squirrels, and porcupine
On the instructor reconnoiter the last time we saw four moose and a bear. The wildlife is serious. There are more and more incidents in the Tetons as bear have moved south from Yellowstone. This includes both Grizzly and Black bear. We teach appropriate behaviors for avoiding animals and what to do if there was any incidence. We were very noisy, in fact this last group was the noisiest group I have ever taken out – in camp and on the trail. They were naturally noisy in camp and on the trail we were shouting ahead all the time. We saw no wildlife once we left Teton Campground.
In past years we have had problems with critters going after salt on boots, ropes and wetsuits one time when we went caving in Darby Canyon. This year it was ground squirrels chewing boot tops and helmet straps. We made sure that ropes were always taken inside tents – not just under vestibules. One year, we climbed on Baxter’s Pinnacle after a course to find that we had to cut off about 30 feet of rope that mice or squirrels had chewed through. One year a porcupine nestled in on an air mattress in my old VE24. We had to pry him out with a stick. He left several quills in there but didn’t puncture the air mattress. We zipped up our door each time we left the tent after that.
Routes
This year we spent two nights in Teton Campground, two nights at the Roche Moutonee site at around 8000 feet in North Fork Canyon and four nights at Skinny Dip Lake. At Skinny Dip, we had a day on ice-axe techniques, a day on sliding middleman across the cirque, then climbed Table Mountain. The following day we descended back to Teton Campground. The original plan was to have crossed over into South Leigh Lakes, then back over the ridge into North Fork.
There is a trail from Teton Campground all the way to the Roche Moutonee at 8000 feet and normally there is no snow at this height during the first week of June. The campsite is where the trail crosses the creek, which is different to the map. On the left hand side of the trail up just past the roche moutonee in North Fork is an excellent boulder field for teaching rope work on steep ground. In 2000, we crossed the creek when there was a log bridge then crossed again a short way further up. In subsequent years when we have been there earlier in the year, the river has been too high with snowmelt for a safe crossing and so we have bush-pushed up through the talus, small trees and willow – back onto the main trail going up the valley. After a way, we cut across to the base of the steep slope below Skinny Dip Lake. You will probably be on snow at this stage. In 1982 we kicked steps all the way up to the Lake without a rope and it didn’t seem that steep. This year, it was steep and we set four fixed lines that were 100 feet each, using small trees as anchors. While looking down from these lines you can see the creek below in places but for the most part it makes a huge moat -- which could be a big problem. In prior recent years this steep slope has been a steep scramble with no snow.
From the campsite, there is just the small snow covered creek to negotiate to get up onto the ridge side of the Wigwams Cirque. The ice axe training slope that we usually use is just to the SW of the lake. The route up Table Mountain crosses the aforementioned creek, traverses above the tree line and drops about 100feet into the main valley. Just follow the valley up rather than contour around which will eventually lead onto a shelf which you follow to the right and then kick steps straight up to the summit rock. Stay away from the south side of the valley where there are huge cornices. Traverse to the right to find the trail up to the summit. Snow conditions permitting you can glissade for most of the way back to camp. If the snow is too hard or the skill level of the students is too low, then use sliding middleman to descend to less steep slopes. Use sliding middleman on the traverse above the trees to get back to the campsite. Rather than negotiate the steep slope back down into the valley from the campsite, where we fixed the ropes on the ascent, we worked our way through the trees to the left of the main creek. This is tricky with steep sections but can be done without roping up. As you get lower, post holing is a problem – not for us this year with the amount of snow we had but in past years this is the one place that we could have used snowshoes.
Other routes
In the eighties we used to do about a week’s shakedown in the Canyon using a couple of sites near the Boy Scout camp and then up near the cliffs on the left just before the bridge into Alaska Basin. The old tent sites were in the trees but with downfall over the years, these are unusable now. There are some small tent sites up in the cliffs bands and there is a meadow below for cooking and hanging food. We have used this site over the last few years to teach basics before heading up North Fork. There is good bouldering and rocky outcrops here that are suitable for teaching basic rock work and rappelling. There is an excellent advanced rappel site not far away at the side of the old mudslide back towards the trailhead. There are good tree anchors and the rappel is partially free and about 80 feet. Protection is needed against rope abrasion as the edge is very rough.
The above-mentioned site in the cliff bands, we used to call the porcupine camp and the water source there is Roaring Fork – a spectacular braided creek. Just the other side of Roaring Fork is an old sheep herders’ trail which can be accessed either through the swamp next to the meadow at this camp – a faint trail leads through the swamp to another meadow and the trail leads through it to round a huge boulder and upwards in small switchbacks that are extremely steep. This is an unofficial trail and probably would not be sanctioned now by the Forest Service. The trail can also be reached by hiking the Alaska Basin Trail past the first footbridge and then the meadow can be seen across the river on the left after about ten minutes hiking. The river has to be crossed, which at certain times is easy and others hard. On one trip, we used a Tyrolean, on another we used the swamp to avoid crossing, another time, we just waded across and the easiest in 2004 was when we hiked across on a huge snow bridge left by an old avalanche.
The sheep herders trail eventually leads to a rocky open clearing with trees that have plenty of claw marks. Above the clearing, the trail that leads towards Battleship Mountain is hard to find if there is snow. On a reconnoiter in 2004 we found many bear tracks and this valley seems to have a lot of evidence of bear. In 2002, we bush-pushed up the valley to a clearing higher up before a set of cascades on the river and used this as a base to climb Battleship Mountain and Table Mountain. From this clearing we continued on a mountain day up the valley and climbed through the cliff bands using fixed lines to get on the plateau to the west of Battleship Mountain. We then summited Battleship. There were fantastic views of the South, Middle and Grand. After glissading off of Battleship, we hiked to Hurricane Pass and looked at what is left of Schoolroom Glacier, then hiked along Hurricane Pass a short ways and dropped back down into the Roaring Fork Valley in what was known as “no sleep pass” and back to camp. This was a very long day. Rappelling back through the cliff bands would be a lot shorter. After a rest day on that course, we returned up the valley again but headed north to climb Table Mountain as we had been weathered out when we had been on the North Fork side. This was a comparatively easy day. We used the sliding middleman to ascend and descend the steep snow slope onto the shoulder near the summit.
In 1983 with Petzoldt, we headed out of the first clearing on the sheepherders trail up to camp on the side of Battleship. We cut over to camp in the plateau area and spent a couple days there including a summit day. We then went over to Hurricane Pass and bivied there in an absolutely still night. The next day we dropped down into the top of the South Fork valley and hiked to Table Mountain, climbing the south side, which was mainly exposed large boulders (with full packs!). We then glissaded down to the small valley above the tree line below Table Mountain and camped there before heading to Skinny Dip Lake. This was a great circuit that may be off limits with access now. The route to get up Battleship may have to be via Alaska basin.
In 2000, we did the Skinny Dip Lake activities and then hiked down to Teton Campground and back having re-supplied. We then climbed over the small pass that is at the head of South Leigh Canyon. There was a small cornice that was easily surmounted and then we used a fixed line to get down the other side and traversed north to a cirque just south of Littles’ Peak. I think there were 14 waterfalls cascading into the cirque. We were still on snow. From here we climbed Little’s Peak which was rock scrambling and some easy snow slopes. We later descended into South Leigh Canyon for a pick up at that trail head. We camped down in the South Leigh on the way out –on the grass and with the mosquitos! It is a long way out.
Outfitting
I have had the luxury of using Badger Creek Outdoor Center in Tetonia through my contacts with Brigham Young Idaho University. Other groups have used the campground in Teton Canyon. In the early eighties, we outfitted in Victor through Petzoldt’s Teton Outfitting Company and of course out of his lodge in Alta. There may be other options – I always liked the look of the Tepee Lodge, which was being sold the last time we visited, which is very close to Teton Canyon.
Summary
This area is incredibly good for teaching wilderness activities. The terrain is spectacular and varied requiring mountaineering techniques such as river crossings, rock scrambling, rock climbing, rappelling and snow techniques. The best time for variety in routes would be in the spring when impacts would be less because of snow cover. The wilderness techniques should also extend to cohabitation with wild animals besides wilderness mountaineering techniques. It is also a historical root of WEA – where the original WEA courses were taught based from Alta. Check for permit availability before doing anything else and if successful, then in my mind, there is no better place for teaching wilderness education courses given that you would be allowed to travel across country.
For additional information on this Select Proceedings ICOL 2010 article, please contact:
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11-Apr-12
