For those of you with experience going up from the Lower Saddle, can you guys give me help in locating where I was, for the sake of my own sanity and prehaps a future climb?
This was June 16, 2013. I was at the Lupine Meadows trailhead at 8:04. I had light/midweight hikers, an ice axe, extra clothing, 3 liters of water, food, and was going to try to get as high as possible. I initally breezed past some causual hikers, thinking I was making good progress. Things got really bogged down when I was in the snow fields. Trying to climb the snow headwalls was very tedious for me, with a combination of kick stepping and herringboning. My toebox didn't have enough rigidity to consistently create a foothold for me on the kick and slipping was not uncommon. I didn't reach the Lower Saddle until 2:22. At 11600 ft, that's 5000 ft travelled and about 2200 feet from the summit.
I continued furthur until 4:11, and by my estimation, I climbed 900 feet from the Lower Saddle. I was below the peak of the Middle Teton and about even or slightly lower than the South Teton. But I wasn't quite sure where I was. I was using Wyoming Whiskey.net's briefing for the route (http://www.wyomingwhiskey.net/), but my view didn't seem to match the route map. If I there wasn't anyone expecting me at the trailhead at 9:00, I might have continued on (I suspect I might have been about 2 hours from the summit?). As it was, I abandoned the climb. With several glissades sortening the descent, I made it back to the trailhead by 8:35.
Can you guys take a look at the pictures and if possible tell me which section I was climbing [I am not sure if it was 1) the Central Rib or 2) between the Dartmouth Couloir and the Owen-Spalding Couloir]? Did I pass the Needle? I wasn't able to identify this feature.
Looking up from the Lower Saddle:
I was climbing the snow until about 1/2 up the picture. The slope got spookly steep for me, and lacking crampons, I was climbing the rocky spline until I abandoned the climb.
Looking west along my route, where there were footsteps from other climbers, but seemed a bit steep for me for comfort:
View looking up the mountain at the point where I abandoned the climb:
Looking east from the same point:
Looking south at the Middle Teton and Lower Saddle:
Thanks in advance.