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Middle Teton and South Teton

Grand Teton National Park, WY Yellowstone + Tetons + Gros Ventre

Distance: 14.9 mi
Net Gain: 7,300 ft
Time: 8-11 hrs
YDS Rating: Class 3
Route: Out/Back
Peaks: 2

Effort: 9.3/10
Personality: 7/10
Beauty: 9/10
Solitude: 5.1/10

What do these mean? →

Peaks on this hike

Summits listed in route order

Middle Teton
12,804′ elevation · 1,124′ prominence
South Teton
12,514′ elevation · 1,074′ prominence

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

43.734700, -110.741470

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Trip report

Aug 13, 2018 — Grand Teton National Park has always felt inaccessible, but after hiking Teewinot a few days ago, and realizing both Middle Teton and South Teton were Class 3 mountains, the Tetons are feeling a bit more reasonable. Now my sideye is set on Grand Teton (one day!). From the Lupine Meadows Trailhead, follow the pleasantly graded Valley Trail to the Garnet Canyon Trail, which weaves up into the lovely Garnet Canyon and then officially ends at a boulder field. A social trail takes you through this boulder field and into a wide area (where we encountered the remainder of the year's snow) and overnighters had tents set up. A social trail continues up Garnet Canyon, through sections of snow, boulders, etc., without getting too steep, and to the saddle of Middle Teton and South Teton. We did Middle Teton first. I highly recommend helmets – this couloir to the summit is very loose and there are relatively a lot of people doing it. I'd say the gully goes at Class 2+, but class 3 because of the risk associated with kicking rocks and whatnot. The summit view is obviously incredible.

Back at the saddle between Middle and South Teton, we peered up at South Teton's scree-filled ridge, debating. Ultimately, we went for it and I highly recommend doing it, because why not? You're already way the hell up here. It's a Class 2 ridgeline that is far less awful than it appears from the saddle. We were expecting slippery scree the whole way up, but it was mostly solid boulders with a light social trail. The summit has some really nice views of Snowdrift Lake to the south, and of Middle Teton, of course.

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Photos

55 photos

From the Lupine Meadows Trailhead, follow the pleasantly graded Valley Trail.
Garnet Canyon Trail.
Garnet Canyon Trail officially ends at the boulder field ahead. A social trail leads through it.
Boulder field. You can see Middle Teton on the right there.
Looking back down the boulder field.
Across a small section of packed snow. Middle Teton right.
Looking back down Garnet Canyon.
Looking back down Garnet Canyon.
There's a social trail, but if you miss it, you get pretty water cascades and canyon. It might be a little easier to navigate while on the social trail, but as long as you're still headed up Garnet Canyon, you're fine.
Looking down Garnet Canyon.
Almost at the saddle of Middle Teton and South Teton.
Saddle of Middle Teton and South Teton, looking down at Icefloe Lake to the northwest.
Starting up Middle Teton.
Starting up Middle Teton, looking back toward South Teton (left), and the saddle above Jordan's head.
Middle Teton ahead.
Close-up of the saddle (left), and Icefloe Lake (right).
Entering the gully. Lots of loose rock. And people. Therefore, a helmet is a good idea.
Looking back toward South Teton, some climbers coming down.
The South Couloir gets more narrow, and you can avoid a bit of the terrible loose rock by sticking to the solid rock walls on the left.
Looking down the Middle Teton South Couloir, Icefloe Lake slightly visible.
Last bit of scrambling.
Summit of Middle Teton, looking toward South Teton (left), and Icefloe Lake (right).
Summit of Middle Teton, looking toward Grand Teton, the obvious center one. Teewinot Mountain is obscured on the right there, still a formidable-looking mountain.
Close-up of Grand Teton.
Yep, I couldn't help myself.
Jordan chose to be less basic.
Close-up looking down into Garnet Canyon.
Back at the saddle, headed toward South Teton.
Along the ridge of South Teton, looking back toward Middle Teton (left) and Garnet Canyon.
South Teton ahead. There's a social trail that we kept losing.
Looking back toward Middle Teton (right) and Icefloe Lake (left).
Along the ridge of South Teton. Keep to the social trail here to make it easier. The rock is very loose. Be really careful. We watched a couple of pieces fall without anyone touching them.
Almost at the summit, looking back.
A gully before the summit.
South Teton summit, looking toward Middle Teton and Grand Teton.
South Teton summit, looking southwest toward Snowdrift Lake and Buck Mountain in the distance.

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Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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