Nick Elson Sets Grand Traverse Record in Wyoming

The first ascent of the Grand Traverse from south to north was by Allen Steck, Dick Long and John Evans in 1963 in just over 21 hours. Over the year, the north to south traverse became more popular. In 2001, Rolando Garibotti set the speed record for completing the entire traverse in six hour and 47 minutes. With 25 kilometres of terrain and four kilometres of climbing, Garibotti’s record stuck for 15 years.

This past weekend, Nick Elson sprinted the traverse in six hours and 30 minutes. The traverse starts at the valley and climbs to Teewinot, Mount Owen, Grand Teton, Middle Teton, South Teton, Cloudveil Dome and Nez Perce. A shorter traverse is called the Cathedral Traverse and included Teewinot, Mount Owen and Grand Teton and is completed more often than the Grand Traverse.

Climbing in the mountains means covering many different types of terrain – some of it not especially glamorous. Here Eric traverses around the north side of Peak 11,840 while completing the Cathedral Traverse yesterday.

A photo posted by Nick Elson (@nicksethelson) on Aug 14, 2016 at 4:41pm PDT