Grand Teton Guided Climbs

Guided climbs approach up Garnet Canyon to a high camp at or below the Lower Saddle, then climb to the summit by the Owen-Spalding route (5.4) or the Upper Exum Ridge, the classic. Unlike Rainier or Shasta, the Grand is a rock climb: several pitches of roped climbing on exposed granite, then rappels on the way down.

That is why guided programs start with climbing school. A typical four-day trip spends a day or two learning to climb and rappel, then two or three days on the mountain.

The guiding season runs from mid-June to early September. Snow often lingers on the upper mountain until mid-July, so the earliest climbs of the season are guided one to one. July and August bring the driest rock, along with afternoon thunderstorms, so summit days start early.

Day climbs need no permit. Camping or bivouacking overnight needs a backcountry permit, $20 per permit plus $7 per person per night, picked up in person in the park.

Guided climbing in Grand Teton National Park is run by two concessioners, Exum Mountain Guides and The Mountain Guides (Jackson Hole Mountain Guides), on contracts that began in 2024. Many of the certified guides below work for them, and guide elsewhere in Wyoming in their own right.

Published prices for a four-day program run from about $1,500 per person in a group with Exum to about $2,100 at three clients per guide with Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, $2,750 at two to one, and about $3,300 for a private one-to-one climb.