Grand Teton Summit

Today was the big day!  We woke up at 3:00 and after a quick breakfast were on the trail hiking in the dark with only light from our headlamps.  It was a steep climb up to the upper saddle.  As it was getting light it started to rain and our guides made the decision to climb the Owen Spalding route due to the weather.  The rain turned to snow and we were now climbing in our rain gear and trying to stay positive and just kept climbing.  The weather improved after about an hour and we reached the summit at about 7:45 in the morning.  It was so awesome and awe inspiring to be standing on the summit looking down on the other peaks in the teton range.  It was hard not to get emotional.  We only spent about 15 minutes at the top, enough to get some pictures and take in the view before we headed back down.  The thing with climbing 7000 feet is that you have to descend 7000 feet.  As we descended through the part we climbed in the dark it was amazing to realize what we climbed through. 

We had a private tent since Heidi was the only female staying on the lower saddle.  We didn't get much sleep though.

This is just below the summit with the middle teton in the background.

Finally at the top!!!  The weather cleared enough for us to enjoy the views.

With our awesome guide Chris Figenshau!

Now it's time to get down!

Heidi on the repel down to the upper saddle.

After a long hike down 7000 ft. we are finally at the trail head at about 3:15.  We were so glad to see the car.  Our feet were on fire.

Stopping to soak our feet in the cool river!