The Tetons grandeur in my opinion come from their foundation. That seems like a bit of obvious logic. All mountains contain grandeur and they get it because something happened to make them mountains. Perhaps saying it as the Tetons character comes from their formation is better. The were formed by block fault slippage. Along a fault line, one block went up, and the other side went down. There are no foothills. The prairie (the side that sunk) runs right up to the base of the main range and boom, there are 10,000 foot mountains.
The range runs north and south and the main access road parallels the range. As you drive (or bike) north along it you feel like you can reach out and touch them with your left hand. They dominate the park. They are young peaks, think the "newest" mountain range in the US, and the geologists predict that the fault will slip more driving the prairie down and giving the mountains more height. Their youth means that they are jagged and rugged, good for climbers.
Because they have no foothills they catch morning sunrise. I got up on a few morning to see what the light would give to the camera. The first time I set up, it was well before dawn. When I looked up on Middle Teton I saw a light near the summit. Early sunlight reflecting off some marker? Some type of beacon to mark the range for the nearby Jackson Airport? Then the light went out and reappeared a few seconds later, to disappear again. I noticed a different light near the saddle of Grand Teton. Then I got it, climbers head lamps. Climbing at night to walk on hard cold snow or ice or just to be there at dawn for the sun breaking over the land. In all there were six or so lights scattered on the upper flanks of the mountains. It was cool to see the light on Middle Teton emerge at the summit just a the sun came up.
The range runs north and south and the main access road parallels the range. As you drive (or bike) north along it you feel like you can reach out and touch them with your left hand. They dominate the park. They are young peaks, think the "newest" mountain range in the US, and the geologists predict that the fault will slip more driving the prairie down and giving the mountains more height. Their youth means that they are jagged and rugged, good for climbers.
Because they have no foothills they catch morning sunrise. I got up on a few morning to see what the light would give to the camera. The first time I set up, it was well before dawn. When I looked up on Middle Teton I saw a light near the summit. Early sunlight reflecting off some marker? Some type of beacon to mark the range for the nearby Jackson Airport? Then the light went out and reappeared a few seconds later, to disappear again. I noticed a different light near the saddle of Grand Teton. Then I got it, climbers head lamps. Climbing at night to walk on hard cold snow or ice or just to be there at dawn for the sun breaking over the land. In all there were six or so lights scattered on the upper flanks of the mountains. It was cool to see the light on Middle Teton emerge at the summit just a the sun came up.
