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 The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park, ...

. On July 15, 1931, Exum was the first to climb the exposed ridge to the summit of

Grand Teton Grand Teton is the highest mountain of the Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park at in Northwest Wyoming. Below its north face is Teton Glacier. The mountain is a classic destination in American mountaineering via the Owen-Spalding rout ...

which now bears his name. The Exum Ridge remains one of the most popular routes to the summit of Grand Teton. After traveling Europe and seeing

mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...

s there essentially pull their clients up the mountain, Exum, along with his friend

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 Petzoldt was born in Creston, Iowa. The you ...

, founded a climbing school to teach clients climbing skills to allow them to fully participate in ascending the mountain. The school they founded, now known as Exum Mountain Guides, still operates today within

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is a national park of the United States in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. G ...

References

Glenn Exum MemorialExum Mountain Guides History
* A Climber's Guide to the Teton Range
Teton Climbing History Summit Registers
First Ascent at 20-years-old *''Glenn Exum “Never a Bad Word or a Twisted Rope”'' A Collection of Climbing Stories by Glenn Exum. Compiled and edited by Charlie Craighead (1998). Published by Grand Teton Natural History Association, Moose, Wyoming. 1911 births 2000 deaths American mountain climbers {{climbing-bio-stub