Elson Beat A 16-Year-Old Grand Traverse Speed Record Originally Set In 2000
Tetons, Wyoming – On August 16, 2016 Canadian Nick Elson completed the Grand Traverse in 6:30:49 beating the previous record of 6 hours 49 minutes set by former Exum Guide Rolando Garibotti on August 26, 2000 . Garibotti beat Alex Lowe’s record of 8 hours 15 minutes set in 1988. This record doesn’t get beat very often.
The Grand Traverse is a 14-mile north to south traverse that covers roughly 12,000 vertical feet and summits ten of the large peaks in the Grand Teton National Park. The traverse starts at 6,700 feet on the valley floor then it climb:
- Teewinot – 12,324′
- Mount Owen – 12,928 feet
- Grand Teton 13,770 feet
- Middle Teton 12,804 feet
- South Teton 12,514 feet
- Ice Cream Cone
- Gilkey Tower
- Spalding
- Cloudveil Dome 12,026 feet
- Nez Perce 11,901 feet.
Completing the Grand Traverse is no easy feat. Most people take one to three days. Speed climbers must be able to “free-solo 5.98 in running shoes” (JHNewsandGuide.com).
Elson lives in Squamish, British Columbia. According to JHNewsandGuide.com, Elson has “completed one-day ascents of the North Face of Eiger in Switzerland and the Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park” amongst other notable accomplishments. He had climbed many of the peaks on the Grand Traverse before. Read more about this new Grand Traverse speed record from JHNewsandGuide.com
The Grand Traverse was first completed in 1963 by Steck, Long, and Evans in roughly 21 hours. In 2004, Mark Newcomb and Stephen Koch were the first to complete the route in winter in 3 days. Find a detailed description of the Grand Traverse on PataClimb.com and on MountainProject.com.
