Is being the first women to snowboard the Grand Teton
one of the final prizes left up for grabs on the mountain?
First Male Alpine Descent-Bill Briggs, 1971
First Female Alpine Descent– Kristen Ulmer, 1997
First Male Telemark Descent– Rick Wyatt, 1982
First Female Telemark Descent– Aj Cargill, 2004
First Male Snowboard Descent– Stephen Koch, 1989
First Female Snowboard Descent– Dani DeRuyter, 2010
So, nearly every day I get emails from TetonAT.com visitors asking questions about routes, gear and technique. (I really enjoy corresponding with the people who visit TetonAT, so please…feel free to get in touch.) For some questions, like…”What Dynafit binding is the best for all around backcountry skiing?”…the answer is easy, the Vertical ST. But once and a while, someone might hit me with a question that stumps me. Anyone know the answer to this one?
Steve, thanks for the great website, it’s really helps and inspires me as I do my own exploring of the Teton backcountry. As I get more experienced and confident in my skills, snowboarding the Grand Teton seems more and more within reach. I’ve been asking around, but maybe you know the answer to this. Has a women snowboarded the Grand yet?”.
Thanks…Michelle.
Now, I had to think about this one for a while, but after a bit I realized that I just wasn’t sure. From a historical standpoint, I think if a women hasn’t snowboarded the Grand Teton yet, it could be one of the last great “firsts” left on the Grand. So…anyone know the answer? HAS a women snowboarded the Grand Teton? From what I’ve learned…not quite yet.
To my knowledge…these are the Grand Teton descent firsts…
First Male Alpine Descent-Bill Briggs, 1971
First Female Alpine Descent- Kristen Ulmer, 1997
First Male Telemark Descent- Rick Wyatt, 1982
First Female Telemark Descent- AJ Caghill, 2004
First Male Snowboard Descent- Stephen Koch, 1989
First Female Snowboard Descent- ??????, ????
from a guide’s point of view,
First descent with a client Doug Coombs & Mark Newcomb
What about winter descents? Who has the first winter descent?
Good question Doug. My guess is that is was pre 1996…since that was the year Newc and Hans skied the Hossack/McGowan…and though it states that they have the first winter ascent and first descent of that route…it doesn’t mention anything about first winter descent of the Grand itself.
John Gribes always joked around about who would get the first descent of the Grand Teton…wearing a panda hat. Jabbing at those that like to claim “firsts”.
First monoskier???
That would require some interesting skinning Ptor!
As far as first winter descent goes, an educated guess would have to say that the late, great, Doug Coombs holds that one. No?
If a women were to snowboard it, how would that many women would make?
I think your question is how many women have ski/snowboarded the Grand Teton? My guess is that it’s somewhere between 10-15.
How does this sound Steve? First women to do it or not, if I am ever on the top of the Grand with my snowboard on I will get down to my bikini layer for at least a few seconds, throw up some horns, and take a shot just for you. I just climbed it for the first time via the Exum route and got a great view of the ski line. The climb was amazing and I think the only way I could top my experience would be to combine my passion for riding with the peak. Much easier said than done though:)
Sounds like a great way to celebrate Michelle…but not the first time I’ve seen that done… 🙂
http://tetonat.staging.wpengine.com/2007/04/shastaatcom-2007day-2/
Glad you made it to the top. Next time…let’s hope it’s with your board!
With all due respect to Doug Coombs, I don’t think he was the first person to ski the grand in winter. Hans or Mark seem more likely. Didn’t they ski the HM in the winter?
Tough call Andrew. Though Hans and Mark have credit for the first winter ascent of the HM, there is no claim recorded that they have the first winter descent of the GT in general during the descent of he HM. (see my previous comment)
Wish there was a more definitive answer though.
I hope that lady approved that picture Steve….love it. Shedding to the bikini layer should be the new summit trend for us ladies. No better way to really claim it.
I’m almost certain that Hans and Newc have the first winter descent with the 96 descent of the HM. I don’t think the first winter descent of the Ford happened until 2002 or 2003, by Griber and Alex Romaine.
As far as a first telemark descent, I think there’s a distinction between a nordic descent and a telemark descent, since you can have the former without the latter but not vice versa. Wyatt and Cargill both made nordic descents, but neither dropped a knee. (Nevertheless, Wyatt’s descent is, in my opinion, one of the burliest descents on record, as he was the first to ski the Grand totally solo, including the first downclimb of the Chevy — a groundbreaking adventure at the time. Also, he did it in little floppy boots and on skis with aluminum edges, which, according to Wyatt, don’t sharpen well. Sketch!)
I know Halsey Hewson and Alex Romaine skied it in the ’90s, and I’m sure Halsey dropped the knee. Most impressive for their descent, however, is the fact that they smoked a fatty on the summit before their descent, though I won’t claim that was a first.
For the record, I dropped the knee from the top to the bottom on the Briggs route in 2003, when I skied it with Coombs and Bill Dyer. Turiano thought that might have been the first tele descent of the Briggs route, which I am pretty sure will be my only first in the Tetons ever. I didn’t really have any choice — I didn’t know how to make alpine turns. I’m still working on them, so in the future I can snowboard, alpine ski, and snowllerblade the Briggs route to sew up that route’s Grand Slam.
There hasn’t been a female snowboarder, and there have only been a handful of female skiers. The female Grand skiers who did it in the best style, in my opinion, are Geneva Chong, who skied it with Doug Workman and Dave Barnett and did not take a ski belay during the descent (nor did they do an unstylish number of rappells, as Ulmer did), and Julia Niles and Lisa Van Sciver, the first all female Grand skiing team. I think they sent it easily.
Also, I think that when it comes to records, the route trumps the season, since the difference between “winter” and “spring” is the difference between two consecutive days in March. What matters is who laid down first tracks. Briggs was the first down the Stettner; Jeff Rhoads was the first down the Ford; Newc and Koch made the first descent of the Black Ice; Newc and Coombs made the first descent of the Otter Body; Newc and Johnstone nabbed the first descent of Hossack-McGowan; Johnstone and Rick Hunt made the first descent of the East Ridge.
Those are the records that matter the most, though it’s interesting to consider who has the most Grand descents. Newc has the most first descents, and has skied it with two, maybe three different females, and has guided it several times. Coombs skied it 10-12 times before he died. Jimmy Chin has approached that number in his Everest “training runs.” Doug Workman has skied the Otter Body twice, skied the Ford for fun a few times, including a girlfriend run, and guided the Ford almost a half dozen times, which might make him current Grand champ. Griber has been up there more than once, and you’ve skied it several times yourself, right Steve? And there are probably several other people out there with multiple descents…
Of course, in the final analysis, nobody has skied the Grand. Everybody at some point either down-climbed or rapped, on every route. Truly, the first ski descent of the Grand still awaits.
Oh, and Greg Collins has skied it a bunch of times, too.
You gotta consider that except for all the first descents that I noted, that all records are up for grabs. A lot of stuff happens in the Tetons, and on the Grand, that never gets recorded. So maybe a female has snowboarded it, but contrary to our overhyped and self-congratulatory era, kept quiet about it. And maybe somebody tele-ed the Ford and Stettner couloirs long ago. You just never know.
Starting to sound like our friend Andrew there David. Not sure I would make the distinction between the first nordic and telemark descents though. Seems like you would then have to note the first descent with a Silveretta or Dynafit binding as well.
Women who have skied the Grand:
Kristin Ulmer
Carina Ostberg
Kit DesLauriers
Kasja Kreiger
Geneva Chong
AJ Cargill
Lisa Van Sciver
Julia Niles
Who am I missing?
Yeah, but those are alpine bindings, Steve. What I’m talking about is the distinction between turns, which might then also land me the distinction of the first stem wedgy parallelemark in the heinous glop we found on the Teepe Glacier.
Granted Dave…which could be splitting hairs.
Two more women have skied the Grand Teton that I know of…both from CO.
Kim Havell
Karen Kinsley
Wow, all this first descent talk is making my head spin. Don’t forget Jessica Baker, who lead my group up the Grand last weekend. She has skied it. All in all, I think we are just ready for the snow to start falling again and just make some turns. Too much talking about it for me.
Thanks Michelle…I can’t believe I overlooked Jessica. I’m wondering if Jess McMillian has skied it as well? I vaguely remember her giving it a go.
For the record, I’d give anything to see some pictures of Hans and Rick’s (wasn’t Greg with them too?) descent of the East Ridge. Wonder if those guys even brought a camera.
i guess you’ll have to dig a bit for those pics. Jedi warriors don’t throw pics around like others in this town!
save it gringo! 🙄 comments like that only make your identity more and more obvious.
No camera. And no, Greg wasn’t with them. But he was at high camp, and by yelling up at them in the gathering darkness, was able to help them negotiate the last few hundred feet down to the Teepe Glacier.
Teepee Glacier? Sounds like the bottom half of the East Ridge still waits for a descent…if it’s even skiable.
Hey Gringo! Picture…thrown. Where’s your line? 8)
touchy!
Sometimes. It just really bugs me when people treat ski photos like they are nuclear reactor secrets or something.
looks like a new “first prize” for the Grand. I’d think I’d be too afraid to watch someone come down that one.
I know this is an old conversation, but just so ya know… I attempted to ski The Grand twice in 2005 and 2006, and was unsuccessful each time, due to weather,snow conditions,timing, etc. I skied the Grand Teton for the first time on June 18, 2006 via the Ford-Exum Ridge-Wall Street-Lower Saddle route and have since skied it again via the Ford-Stettner-Teepee Glacier route. Both times I skied it without belay (other than minimal mandatory rappells) and without any guide (i.e. with fellow ski mountaineering partners, making mutual decisions, and leads).
cheers,
Jessica Baker
thanks jessica. time to get it in pow???
affirmative…winter descent on the list.
oooh, so jealous, sounds like you are headed to the Fairy Hut! I will be up in B.C. from Feb. 20 till March 3rd (mostly Rogers Pass, Golden, and Osoyoos regions) I will keep you posted on conditions.
cheers,
jb
I rarely check this blog out but was scrolling thru. Halsey did drop a knee, and asked where his cables were, he replied ” I only use those at the village”.
A true 3 pin descent
thanks jessica! i hope to be on rogers on the 25th and 26th. maybe we’ll run into each other up there?
R3…it’s okay to admit you come by here often…it’s accepted now-a-days.
classic quote from halsey there. love that guy!!!
A woman snowboarded the Grand today.
WarPig…Was it our friend Michelle?
Hey Steve, it was Dani DeRuyter. We got a 1 am start and did the Ford/Stettner. Check out my trip report at http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com for yesterday’s conditions on the Grand.
Here’s a link straight to the report… http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/skiing_journal/354/TETONS-CENTRAL/GRAND-TETON/FORDCHEVYSTETTNER
thanks warpig. i’m not familiar with dani…congrats to her!
Wow! Congrats to Dani, way to get it!!! I hope to be up there one of these days with my board:)
Good Luck, Michelle. IF you catch it soon, the booter should still be visible.
Heres a recap of their descent. Killing it super hard.
http://thedeal.cleansnipe.com