I am shamelessly drawn to pointy or otherwise visually striking mountains with summits that look hard to attain (especially if there`s an easier way up round the back). And the more famous the better. I never got past the stage of enjoying ringing up my dad from the other side of the world, and telling him "I`ve climbed x"! And then hearing him turn to mother in the background and say "hey, Flo, guess what, he`s climbed "x"! Devil`s Tower and Grand Teton belong firmly in this category of hill, with a capital X. And were a fitting target for a two-week Wyoming trip with a climber from Albuquerque, whom I met in Mexico. There`s no easy way up round the back of Devil`s Tower, but Grand Teton has a route that "goes" for most alpinists without having to haul a rope 7,000 feet up from its base. The Tetons have a vague reminiscence of the Chamonix Aiguilles, though the Jackson area is much more expansive than the Chamonix Valley, allowing the mind to drift away from the mountains a little, and relax from the tension, in between climbs.

Devil`s Tower form the entrance station

Resident of Prairie Dog Town,
Devil`s Tower

Devil`s Tower from the south

Resident of Prairie Dog Town,
Devil`s Tower

Resident of Prairie Dog Town,
Devil`s Tower

Devil`s Tower from the west

David Benyak on the
Durrance Route, Devil`s Tower

Devil`s Tower from the
Belle Fourche Campground

First pitch of the Durrance Route,
Devil`s Tower

American flag at Visitor`s Centre,
Devil`s Tower

David Benyak on the
Durrance Route, Devil`s Tower

Ian Swarbrick on the summit
of Teewinot Mountain

Ian Swarbrick on summit
of Devil`s Tower

Teewinot Mountain from the
summit of Grand Teton

David Benyak abseiling the
Durrance Route, Devil`s Tower

Arrowhead Lake, Cirque of the Towers,
Wind River Range

Devil`s Tower

 

Grand Teton, Owen and Teewinot
from the AAC Climber`s Ranch

David Benyak victorious
on Teewinot Peak

The Tetons and Mount Moran from
Signal Mountain, taken at sunrise

David Benyak on the summit
of Grand Teton

Grand Teton, Owen and Teewinot
from the AAC Climber`s Ranch

Abseiling by the Owen-Spalding
Route, Grand Teton

"Belly crawl", Owens-Spaulding
Route, Grand Teton

Messing around at a roadside boulder,
east of Yellowstone

The main Teton Range from the east

Mount Moran and Jackson Lake
from Signal Mountain

Grand Teton from the lounge area of
Jackson Lake Lodge

Messing around at a roadside boulder,
east of Yellowstone

South, Middle and Grand Tetons
and Mount Owen

   
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e-mail: imagesfromthewild@bluewin.ch
Rehetobelstrasse 34, CH9000 St Gallen, Switzerland
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