The following are a few pics from an August 30th trip up The Middle Teton. In Particular The Chouinard Ridge, located on the mountains southeast face and rated grade 3, 5.4. These days I am too lazy to carry a huge pack with all the required climbing paraphernalia up the monstrous approaches required in the Tetons. So for the past several years I have occupied myself by shouldering the day pack and soloing the moderate classics. As my list of “moderate classics” has dwindled I have been forced to search out a few of the more obscure lines which are often pretty “classic” nevertheless. The latest tick was The Chouinard Ridge. Pretty good route overall. Decent rock (relative to the Tetons), a straight forward route, it’s a ridge duh. Though there is plenty of room to choose your own line. The crux sections are short and not terribly exposed, 5.4-5.6 moves. Check out the Ortenbuger/Jackson guide for all the details.

The standard Teton view.
Garnet Canyon Trail and Middle Teton
"These legs will be tired tonight!"
Garnet Canyon Trail and Middle Teton
The Southeast Face is the aspect left of the obvious black dike
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The South Fork of Garnet Canyon which provides access to the route
The Chouinard Ridge is just left of the second couloir
The hero shot about 2/3 of the way up
Snack on the climb. One of many nice ledges.
Middle Teton
The views from the top.
Summit hero shot.