Middle Teton () is the third-highest peak 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, ...

, in the U.S. state of

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. Located 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 ...

, the peak is immediately southwest 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 ...

, from which it is separated by a broad high ridge at , known to local climbers as the Lower

Saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

. The

Middle Teton Glacier Middle Teton Glacier is on the northeast flank of Middle Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. The alpine glacier is a popular mountaineering route for ice climbing and for access to the summit of Middle Teton and other peaks to the sou ...

is located on the eastern slopes of the peak. Middle Teton is a classic pyramidal alpine peak and is sometimes included as part of the

Cathedral Group The Cathedral Group is the group of the tallest mountains of the Teton Range, all of which are located in Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Cathedral Group are classic alpine peaks, with pyramidal shapes caused by gla ...

of high Teton peaks. The Teton Range is the youngest mountain chain in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, beginning its uplift 9 million years ago, during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

. Several periods of

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

have carved Middle Teton and the other peaks of the range into their current shapes. From the Lower Saddle, a distinctive feature known as the black dike appears as a straight line running from near the top of the mountain down . The black dike is a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

intrusion In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

that occurred long after the surrounding rock was formed.

Climbing

The first recorded ascent of Middle Teton was by Albert R. Ellingwood on August 23, 1923, via Ellingwood Couloir on the south side of the peak. Ellingwood made the

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

of South Teton the same day. What is known as the southwest

couloir A couloir (, "passage" or "corridor") is a narrow gully with a steep gradient in a mountainous terrain.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, p. 121. . Geology A couloir may be a seam, scar, or fissure, o ...

provides the easiest route to the summit. Other sections on the mountain are rated as high as class 5.11, with the Middle Teton Glacier route considered to be the most technically advanced. The first ascent of the Glacier Route was completed on August 4, 1944, by Paul Bradt and Sterling Hendricks. This route is described as a "classic", and is one of the few early season purely ice and snow routes in the

References

{{Authority control Mountains of Grand Teton National Park Mountains of Wyoming Mountains of Teton County, Wyoming

Climbing

See also

References