The Exum Ridge is the name of a prominent rock buttress on the

Grand Teton Grand Teton is the highest mountain in Grand Teton National Park, in Northwest Wyoming, and a classic destination in American mountaineering. Geography Grand Teton, at , is the highest point of the Teton Range, and the second highest peak in ...

, the high point of the Teton Range in Wyoming.

towers 13,770 feet above Jackson Hole, with an ascent of 6,700 feet which by any route requires a combination of hiking,

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

and rappelling. The Ridge is named after

Glenn Exum Glenn Exum (June 24, 1911 – March 17, 2000) numbers among the premier mountaineers in American climbing history. Exum is best remembered for ascents in the Teton Range. In 1931, while only in his teens, Exum was the first to climb the exp ...

who pioneered a route, via a solo climb, on a day when his mentor

Paul Petzoldt Paul Kiesow Petzoldt (January 16, 1908 – October 6, 1999) was an American mountaineer and wilderness educator known for establishing the National Outdoor Leadership School in 1965. Early life and education Petzoldt was born in Creston, ...

was guiding a couple up the original Owen-Spaulding Route. Today the route is split into the

Upper Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

and Lower Exum Ridge Routes. It is common for parties to bypass the more technically challenging lower section and climb exclusively the upper section. The Direct Exum Ridge Route which includes both section is recognized in the historic climbing text '' Fifty Classic Climbs of North America''. In 1931 Exum and Petzoldt started

Exum Mountain Guides The Exum Mountain Guides is a mountain guide service based in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The guide service was founded in the 1926 by Paul Petzoldt and Glenn Exum, for whom the Exum Ridge climbing route on the Grand Teton in Grand Teton Nation ...

, which has grown to be a prestigious climbing school and mountain guide service. In 1982 Exum, accompanied by many distinguished mountaineers, made one last climb of the Exum Ridge route on the fiftieth anniversary of his first ascent.

References

Ridges of Wyoming Landforms of Grand Teton National Park {{Wyoming-geo-stub