It has been a few days since Jeremy, Huanita, and I climbed and reached the peak of the Grand Teton at 13,775 feet in Wyoming.  Since that day, my being and my thoughts have remained on that peak as if I never left.  All of us were absorbed by the beauty of mountain pine trees with perfect triangle peaks poking into the clear blue sky in a gradual descend revealing a beautiful pattern.  The turquoise glacier lakes were so crystal clear and serene that we could observe its bottom from way up high, the big rock boulders resting in the valley, made us feel like tiny specs.  This picturesque ensemble led us to the Grand Teton.  

We could smell the pine air in our ascent, zigzagging our way to the top being welcomed by a rushing river and water fall with decorated beds of fresh wild mountain flowers.  The landscape changed almost every mile, from the green pine covered terrain to rugged mountain with majestic peaks and glacier where a waterfall let the stream down the valley. The water was cold, refreshing, and clean enough to drink from right from the stream. 

The entire experience completely took over my mind and body, resting like a happy cloud over me every day since the climb.  Was it hard to climb? Yes.  Was it challenging to the point of tears? Yes. Was the backpack heavy to the point of not being able to continue? Yes.  Was it cold ? Yes.  Did I overcome my deadly fear of heights? Yes.  Was it magnificent? Yes. Would I do it again? Absolutely, YES!  

The thought of climbing The Grand came a few years ago, when Jeremy and I visited my best friend Huanita, who lives in Montana. We traveled through Grand Teton Park where we stopped for pictures and Jeremy shared the story of his grandfather who had always mentioned his memories of the Teton Mountains.  Looking at the sharp and vast mountain range, Jeremy said “Imagine how proud my papa would be if we climbed The Grand!” 

That story was the start of our prep, and even though the life got in the way, we were able to materialize our dream three years later.  On July 30th, we signed up for the ascent experience though Exum, a guide service, who provided an awesome mentor to train us for the big day.  The entire experience was four days, two of which were training and the other two were the actual climb.  

On Monday, August 31st, we met Kai Gerard, our guide at Exum, a young athletic man with the looks of a real mountaineer that did a lot climbing in his life. The day was overcast and chilly, a roll of misty clouds embraced the top of The Grand, hiding it from us temporarily. 

After the introduction, we all threw a rope on our shoulders and Kai led the way to the boat that took us across Jenny Lake to a designated place for our training.  Our first lesson was on how to take small steps and choose our path carefully.  Taking small steps is crucial in helping to conserve energy and preventing falling or injuries.  Then we learned how to make figure eight knots and stack the ropes into a nice a pretty spaghetti pile.  After securing the eight knot and being attached to Kai, who belayed us, we climbed a steeper rock. 

The time flew by and after climbing the rocks pitch by pitch, we got to the top of the big cliff and had lunch with a view.  With pine trees all around us, the Teton Peak was winking at us through the clouds passing by and down below Jenny Lake looked calm and serene.  A wall of rain was coming towards us from the East and soon, after we finished our lunch, the rain caught us while training to rappel down from a small cliff.  I felt the terror of heights running throughout my entire body, but I couldn't afford to show that fear to my teammates.  So, at Kai’s instruction, I grabbed the rope and slowly left myself into the harness with my both feet presses firmly onto the cliff.  

The training for the day finished with a rappel from a bigger cliff, all of us were still terrified of this adventure.  I don't think any of us expected this training to be terrifying and fun at the same time.  Huanita thought we are going for a hike the entire day. 

Our second day of training was even harder than the first.  Steeper rocks to climb, rocks that were almost smooth with nothing to grab on, making your fingers feel the burn in the extremities while looking for the best corner to cling on, the entire time being attached by a rope to Kai.  Kai told us about the easiest rock to cling on he called the “The Ice cream Sandwich.” This rock was probably the easiest hold for the entire climb that day.   The day was sunny and beautiful and The Grand was still there looking at us training.  Bzzat and Hop, are two terms used in climbing when facing a hard rock to climb and making a super hard move. Some of us were screaming BZZZAT when trying to climb, exhaling all that trapped pain from our bodies. We learned a few more climbing techniques and rappelled down from an eighty foot cliff.  FUN! 

At the end of our second day of training, Kai mentioned that, if we would like, we can ascent to the summit in a day and then sleep the evening at the Lower Saddle, instead of starting climbing late in the day, sleep for a few hours in a tent at the Lower Saddle and then get up early morning around 2 am and make it to the top.  He thought we are fit enough to do the climb in a day which we all agreed that it was the best option. 

The ascent day started early.   All packed and ready, we met in the parking lot at 6:00 am.  The beautiful misty morning predicted a nice day ahead.  Full of morning energy, all three of us, choosing our steps carefully, followed Kai. The trail was dusty, signs of a popular trail, with pine trees sprinkled around everywhere.  After a little more than three miles, we reached Garnet Canyon and took a few short breaks.  Next, we reached the Lower Saddle around noon at 12,000 feet. There we exchanged our backpacks for lighter ones with only the absolute necessary things like water, food, rappelling gloves, and warm layers to make the summit.  It was windy and sunny, way warmer than previous days, according to other climbers who stayed through a blizzard and were descending that day.  

After a short lunch break we were packed and ready to reach the summit.  About half an hour in with my light backpack on and rope around my shoulder, I broke down into tears.  The pain crept through my entire body, especially in my core.  Knowing that we are rushing to get to the top that day, I felt weak in front of The Grand.  It kicked my butt and took my breath completely.  Luckily, my amazing husband took something from my backpack to lighten the load and our nice guide Kai took the rope from me and we moved on. We had to climb 5000 more feet and no one was going to give up. We passed the Black Dike, a black granite section, roped around the Briggs Slab, did the Belly Roll (terrifying), climbed the Sargent’s Chimney, which had snow and ice on it. My hands were frozen and stiff but I had to cling onto the rocks.  After that, it felt like a blur. The only thing I heard from Kai that we are 25 feet from the top. 

Around 4:00 pm we reached the summit! Sniffles, excitement, emotions of happiness and hugs followed.  We were in complete awe of the views and the fact that we were able to climb 13,775 feet in one day.  Wow!

Four hours laters, the sun descended simultaneously as we walked into the Lower Saddle, where we camped for the night.  Our yellow tents waited for us and we had some tea and some soup.  The wind was blowing so intense that it cooled the hot water in just a few minutes.  The noodles in the soup didn't even have time to soften.  We were so tired that we didn't even cared. Around 3:30 am I went outside to admire the night landscape. The moon was touching the peaks of the mountains with its soft light and the stars were glistening  throughout the entire sky.  It was a unique environment and time of the night to admire. 

The morning brought a pink sky transforming the landscape into a different beauty to be seen.  The moon and the sun said hello to each other on the peak and soon enough the bright day rolled in. We made our descend slowly just to admire again the glacier, the rugged mountains and their peaks, the enormous boulders, the waterfall and the flowers, which seemed to be multiplied overnight.  I stopped and washed my face and drank some water from the cold stream.  We were deliriously happy of what happened the previous day.  

All of us are still there at 13,775 feet trapped and forever changed by it.  Thank you Grand Teton for changing our lives for good! Thank you Kai for leading the way and guiding us all to way to the top.