All Locations > Wyoming > Grand Teton NP > Grand Teton

Lower Exum Ridge

Name: Lower Exum Ridge
Rating: 3.9

5.7 YDS 5a French 15 Ewbanks V+ UIAA 13 ZA MVS 4b British

Routes in Grand Teton

L › R R › L A › Z

	Bean's Shining Wall of Storms T 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
	Beyer East Face I T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Black Ice - West Face Combination T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c AI3
	Burgette Arête T 5.8- 5b 16 VI- 14 VS 4c
	Collins-Coombs T 5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	Collins-Hume T 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
	Crystal Right T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b C0
	Crystal Tower T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b
	Direct Petzoldt Ridge T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	East Face Direct T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a
	East Ridge T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	Emerson Chimney T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Exum Ridge T 5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a
	Fight or Flight Traverse T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Flipping Tokens to Hoboken T 5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b
	Ford - Stettner Couloir (Ski Descent) WI2-3 Mod. Snow
	Gold Face T 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	Golden Pillar, Direct North Face T 5.12- 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
	Jackson-Rickert Crack T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b X
	Lower Exum Ridge T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	North Buttress Direct T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b R
	North Face Highlight Tour T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	North Face Standard T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	North Ridge T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	North Side Lowlight Tour (path of least resistance) T 5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b Easy Snow
	Owen Spalding T 5.4 4a 12 IV 10 VD 3c
	Perception Traverse T 5.8- 5b 16 VI- 14 VS 4c PG13
	Petzoldt Ridge T 5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b
	Pownall-Gilkey T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Psudo Emerson Chimney T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c M4-
	Simpleton Pillar T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c M1 Mod. Snow
	Stettner Couloir T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b WI2-3 Mod. Snow
	Underhill Ridge Original/Direct T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	West Face of the Exum Ridge T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Wish You Were Here T 5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	Wittich Crack T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	Wooden Ships T 5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a R

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Type:	Trad, Alpine, 800 ft (242 m), 6 pitches
FA:	September 1st, 1936 Jack Durrance and Kenneth Henderson
Page Views:	122,230 total · 542/month
Shared By:	Steven Lucarelli on Jul 5, 2006 · Updates
Admins:	Mike Snyder, Taylor Spiegelberg, Jake Dickerson Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

The Durrance Direct, is a classic route on the southeast side of the Grand Teton. All of the pitches are good but the 5th pitch is by far the best being that it's steep, exposed and still only 5.7.

P1: A large chimney with some chockstones in it. Squeeze through a hole under the chockstones about halfway up and then climb out of the chimney on the right shortly after that and up to a large ledge. Or start in the chimney for 10 feet, then move right and climb the face, which is a better option assuming you have a pack. Either way is 5.6 with good pro.

P2: Climb easy terrain up and left following some cracks to another nice ledge. 5.5.

P3: Move the belay to the base of a nice hand crack. Climb the crack up and left then traverse back right where the rock has large black section, and pull up onto lower angle rock. 5.7.

P4: Climb up past a large chockstone (I climbed around it on the outside) and to a broken up ledge at the base of the steep 5th pitch. (Pitches 3 and 4 can be combined barely with a 50m rope). 5.7.

P5: The Black Face. Climb up and right from the ledge and follow a crack with a few pins in it. Belay at a pin and fixed cam. Steep and awesome 5.7.

P6: Climb straight up an awkward crack on smooth rock and then head right on easier terrain but with minimal gear. 5.7. Belay on Wall Street ledge. (An easier option is to go left from the belay which also ends up on Wall Street)

Combining the Lower and Upper Exum Ridge to the summit is a great way to climb the Grand.

Location

Finding the route can be a little tricky if you've never been up there before. From the Lower Saddle head north toward the Grand but instead of going up the ridge traverse down along the east side of the saddle. Continue scrambling east and keep an eye out for a black band of rock that runs east to west and is where the route starts from. Follow the bottom of the black band over a small saddle that is neatly divided into two colored rock sections. Descent slightly, then ~30 past the low point of the black band, look for a 4th class ramp that goes BACK TO THE LEFT (south). Follow that ramp several hundred feet to the base of the first pitch.

The first pitch is a large chimney (or face to the right of the chimney, recommended) which is visible from the saddle and requires some scrambling or easy climbing to get to.

Descend the Owen Spalding route to the Upper Saddle and don't drop down the first gully that leads southeast. Instead go farther west and look for some climbers trails that work their way down to the Lower Saddle

Protection

I used a small selection of cams from a green Alien to a #3 Camalot and about 10 nuts of various sizes and felt that was adequate. There are several pins on pitch five and a few rap anchors on the route in different locations.