GRAND DESCENT: Jessica Baker skis Ford Couloir
After two previous attempts this spring, Jessica Baker accomplished her long-time goal to ski the Grand Teton on Sunday, June 18. The first woman to ski the Ford Couloir via the Exum ridge ascent, Baker made clean turns without a belay down the couloir, which chokes to 55 degrees with 3,000 feet of exposure. Here’s an account of her exciting day…
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I started from Lupine meadows trailhead (at approximately 7000 ft.) with climbing/skiing partners Phil Jones and Mot at 1:30 a.m. We reached the Meadows at 3:30 a.m., took a small rest for food and water, then headed for the next major bench. We reached the lower saddle (elevation 11,000 ft) at 5:30 a.m. and took another rest and re-examined the game plan (and ate Mot's large deli pickle and laughed deliriously for no reason). From there we headed up to the Black Dike, onward through the "Eye of the Needle" and up to Wall Street (mixed climbing on rock, ice and snow to the Wall street ledge). We crossed the Wall Street ledge (which felt like 5.10 in my AT boots), ascended the golden stair on Exum Ridge, skied/rappelled down the Petzl/Beckey-connector-couloir to the base of the ford couloir/top of the chevy. At this point I ditched the rope then cramponed (with one technical ice axe and one whippet) my way up the Ford to the top of the Grand, arriving at the summit at 12:15 pm (elevation 13,770 ft).
The snow was just getting good. We let it warm up a little more, then I skied perfect corn down the entire Ford Couloir. No belay, just pure turns on the most exposed couloir I have ever skied. The Grand is a castle in the sky—like nothing I’ve ever descended on skis. I can't begin to tell you how special it felt to make those turns. Once we had skied to the bottom of Ford, we retraced our route, avoiding the Chevy/Stettner couloirs due to rapid warming with rock and ice fall. Once we reached the lower saddle we skied more perfect corn back down to the Meadows. An epic day, which made my bed that much more appealing when I returned to my house at 9:30 p.m. -Jessica Baker
Jessica Baker is a first-year guide with Exum Mountain Guides in Jackson, Wyoming. For information on her women’s skiing camp with Emily Coombs, check out dougcoombs.com/women.
Climbing up the Ford Couloir.
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