North America, United States, Wyoming, Teton Range, Middle Teton, North Wall to Taylor Route

Publication Year: 2009.

Teton Range, Middle Teton, North Wall to Taylor Route. After a free ascent of Royal Robbins’s Taylor Route on Middle Teton a year earlier, Hans Johnstone wanted to open another line on the steep north face of the Middle Teton. Lying between the North Ridge and the Middle Teton Glacier, this compact, overhanging north wall provides technically challenging climbs without tremendous length, but with the spice of a north wall.

On August 18, after a false start to the right, Hans and I gained a slanting ramp. At 6 p.m. we arrived at Pitch 4, the crux overhang. Here I made a pact with Hans to return to the route if he would first help me dispatch a face route on the Red Sentinel that I had just finished equipping. He agreed, and we rapped off.

The next morning we warmed up on the first ascent of Red Alert (5.11c) on the south face of the Red Sentinel and ran off to the Middle. After we quickly regained the previous day’s high point, Hans crushed through the crux overhang. From there we swapped leads, hammering and free-climbing steep corners and ramps to the top of the wall (8 pitches, V 5.11 A2). We descended by rappelling.

Greg Collins, AAC