Climbing Mt. Moran in Grand Teton National Park

When most people think of Grand Teton National Park, they naturally think of the Grand Teton, the mountain which gives the parks its name and the range's tallest mountain. Frequent readers may remember that I climbed the Grand in 2018. Late last month I climbed another of the range's prominent peaks, Mt. Moran. 

Moran stands out on the northern end of the range, easily visible from Leigh and Jackson Lakes, the Jackson Lake Lodge, and the park road. Distinctive for its sheer massiveness, flattish top, and enormous, dark, nearly vertical dike jutting out from its eastern side. It is aptly named after Thomas Moran, the landscape artist who painted many dramatic and influential scenes of the American west.

Moran presents some very different challenges to the climber than does the Grand Teton, beginning with a canoe trip across String and Leigh Lakes to reach the approach climb up the stream flowing out of Falling Ice Glacier.

Then begins an unrelentingly steep two mile (and 2700 vertical feet) hike to camp. For most of the hike, you can see the West Horn and the East Horn on either side of the glacier, displaying the classic U shape profile of glacially carved valleys.

Eventually you bear off to the left onto a glacial moraine where the camp is located. Judging from the rock walls build around obvious tents sites, high winds are common in this area. Here's a view looking out of our tent door at the wall.

After an early dinner and arranging gear for a pre-dawn start I snuggled into my sleeping bag. And mostly didn't sleep because I was just too nervous thinking of the day ahead. It was a relief when it was finally time to get up and get going, headlamps lighting our way. 

It turns out we were in for a long day - nearly 12 hours from camp to the top and back down to camp, which is pretty typical for this climb - and another factor differentiating it from the Grand. Our aim was to follow the Chicago Mountaineering Club (CMC) route so we scrambled and climbed our way to the top of Drizzlepuss, a tower between the West Horn and the east face of Moran, then rappelled down to reach the east face which we then climbed in multiple pitches to reach the summit. For scale, you can see two climbers on the east face (in the middle of the lefthand side of the photo).

Throughout the day we moved slowly but steadily, thanks to our expert guide, Jed Porter, of Exum Mountain Guides. He knows the route in detail, pitch by pitch, which allowed us to avoid any route-finding delays, and he worked efficiently to set up the ropes to keep us safe. Since we climbed and rappelled one at a time I had a few opportunities to snap photos of the incredible scenery. This one is a view of the Falling Ice Glacier wedged between the East Horn and the West Horn. On the right hand side you can see Leigh Lake which we had paddled across the previous day.

Here is a close-up view of the dike. I have heard it called the "black dike," but it is really reddish brown. Regardless of its color, at 125 feet thick it is enormous!

And here we are at the top (with the Grand in the background) masks and all. Yes, we really did wear masks for much of the climb - any time we were close together, or about to be close together such as during belays and rappels. That's me on the left and if you're wondering why my shirt looks so lumpy, it's because my rappel gloves are stuffed inside.

For further proof that we reached the summit, here is my photo of the USGS summit bench mark. 12,605 feet above sea level, though the number is not engraved on the benchmark.

Here's one more view of the top, which, except for the dike, is comprised of Cambrian Flathead Sandstone, apparently none of it actually in place. Some blocks are in a random jumble, others form a patterned ground - geometrical shapes likely made by frost heaves.

After summit photos and a quick snack we turned back to camp, reversing our steps from the route up. This time though we rappelled down parts of the east face. Here is Jed setting up the ropes to rappel,

and here he is on the way down. Once again the views were stunning!

Then we reclimbed Drizzlepuss, which presented the trickiest maneuvers of the day, and which we fortunately handled without trouble. From there it was a scramble back to camp for a well-earned and delicious dinner of instant mashed potatoes and smoked oysters. Exhausted and exhilarated, we were back in our tents before sunset, though peeked out to see the high peaks glowing in the late evening light.

Though Moran may not be as famous as the Grand, it is a worthy climb in a stunning location. It offers more actual climbing than the Grand, though generally with less exposure. Spending two nights camping, rather than one in a hut, also gives you more time to enjoy the relative solitude of the back country.