Northeast Snowfields

The Northeast Snowfields of Mt. Owen is one of the premier moderate alpine routes in the Tetons.  The climbing encountered varies tremendously from year to year and season to season so the exact line chosen can vary accordingly.  I'll describe the conditions and route we climbed in early summer following a winter and spring that had very heavy snowfall.

Once on the first snowfield, we trended a bit right (west) and crossed the first cliff band on a slab that was easy mixed climbing and some friction moves.  You can get small gear in cracks on the slab if needed.  This brought us to the lower west edge of the 2nd snowfield.  The snow of the second snowfield is moderately steep and we were fortunate to find stiff styrofoam conditions that, combined with simuclimbing made for fast progress.

At the top of the second snowfield, we encountered a cliff band that had moderate mixed conditions with good protection that led to west edge of the 3rd snowfield.  The 3rd snowfield is the steepest and by trending a slightly left under steep cliffs, tops out below a vertical chimney.  We found perfect plastic water ice with a couple of bulges in the chimney, the most difficult at the top.  Steep ice in the Tetons is not always such perfect plastic.

The chimney deposits one in a ramped alleyway with a wall on the left and the summit slabs of Mt. Owen on the right.  Proceed casually along the alley to the west until the wall on the left ends.  Enjoy the views...

Climb the south-facing summit slabs to the top.  This pitch is graded 5.6 and seemed full value at that grade in double boots.  The pro is good.  Downclimb to the alley, move west and descend the Koven Route.

I'll need to scan my 35mm slides to get pictures up.  A look with Google Earth in 3-D mode gives good hints but this is a fairly complex routefinding challenge to accomplish on-sight.  This is a beautiful route with a big mountain feel to it.

Approach via the Cascade Canyon trail and watch for the stream descending from the snowfields.  Continue west beyond the intersection of the stream and Cascade Creek.  If you are lucky, a large tree will be found spanning the creek and you can walk across.  If not, look for a large boulder and hopefully find a safe crossing.  In early season, wading Cascade Creek can be dangerous, so adjust accordingly.  If you plan to do the route car-to-car in a day, it is probably worthwhile to scout the approach and creek crossing.

Once across Cascade Creek, look for game trails heading up into the Teewinot/Mt. Owen cirque.  It's a bit of a grunt to get up to the base of the snowfields, but no big deal.  There are nice bivy sites near the base of the snowfields.

Depending on the season and conditions as well as your comfort level on mixed terrain, the rack required can vary considerably. At a minimum, I'd recommend a couple of mid-length screws, a few small-to-mid nuts and possibly 2 to 4 small cams up to 1 Camalot. If you take a #2, you will find places to place it, but it's not mandatory. If you simuclimb the bottom of the route, you may want a couple of short pickets. Crampons and ice axe mandatory.