Personal Narrative: My Trip To The Teton Mountain

Last summer, I had an amazing opportunity to take part in a three-week expedition trip in the Teton Mountain Range. This expedition included an eleven-day hike along the crest trail of the range and a four-day guided ascent of the Grand Teton, the tallest in the range. It was a fierce personal challenge and I prepared myself physically for the arduous climb. At 13,776 feet in elevation, hiking the Grand would be a massive challenge as I had no experience in technical climbing. Our expedition guide, Ben, spent a day teaching us how to climb using ropes, then we headed out from Corbett High Camp at three in the morning. As we approached the west face of the Grand Teton, our visibility was impaired as we were in the clouds, and the mist from last night’s rain had not evaporated.

My heart was racing and my legs were burning as we ascended. I kept waiting for the view to open up as the fog, clouds, and mist continued to cloak our group. After a grueling 12,000 feet and five hours into our trek, we saw snow and ice. At 12,000 feet, last night’s rain had turned into ice at this high altitude. We were struggling against the adverse conditions, working as a team but only able to progress another 1,000 feet up. Ben told us that he decided it was not safe to proceed further.

Not safe as in someone could die. I could see the top of the Grand, looking majestic, clear, and now unattainable. The wind was violently gusting over the top of the peak and the thin clouds that hit the mountain from the backside blasted over the peak like a waterfall. The conditions were treacherous.

I felt colossally disappointed. I realized I would not be able to conquer what I came for. Ben directed us to a little offshoot of The Grand called the West Fang. We only spent a few minutes up there in the horrible weather, but those few minutes changed me forever. As I sat there moping around and feeling sorry for my situation, I looked at my fellow climbers. Most were disappointed, but one kid named Marshall had a huge smile on his face. He was radiating happiness and his positivity spread through the group like a virus. By the time we took the group picture, we all had smiles on our faces.

I reflected on the vastness of my surroundings and it was almost like someone had shifted the lens I was looking through.

I looked forward to the journey down that was in front of me. I realized I had been missing something very important. I was so busy looking forward to the culmination of the experience that I wasn’t paying attention to the fantastic adventure I was part of. It was never about peaking The Grand. It was about embracing the experience the best I could be despite what Mother Nature threw at us. Marshall’s enthusiasm motivated me to be the guy that inspires, rather than dampens the experiences in life. And Mother Nature taught me there is more than one path to accomplishment and

success.