Guide shatters Traverse record
From article in the Jackson Hole News by Jim Stanford
send this page to a friend
Climber scales 10 Teton peaks in less than 7 hours
Exum guide Garibotti bests Alex Lowe's Grand Traverse record by nearly 90 minutes. "Unless a man aspires to the impossible, the possible that he achieves will scarcely be worth the trouble of his achieving it." - Miguel de Unamuno
To understand how speed climber Rolando Garibotti completed the storied Grand Traverse in a shocking 6 hours and 49 minutes on Aug. 26, one must know a few things about Miguel de Unamuno. Unamuno, an early-20th century Spanish existentialist, challenged people to push their limits, test their faith and embrace the noble struggle against death. "Only that which suffers is divine," he preached in his writings.
Garibotti, a 29-year-old senior Exum guide, was pondering Unamuno's philosophy when he set out at 5:50 a.m. from the Lupine Meadows parking area in Grand Teton National Park. Also on his mind was the late Alex Lowe, a friend and fellow Exum guide who in 1988 had set a heretofore unchallenged mark of 8 hours and 15 minutes for climbing all of the central Teton peaks, a herculean feat known as the Grand Traverse.
Twice in the preceding two weeks Garibotti had completed the 10-peak traverse, which includes ascents of Teewinot, Mount Owen, the Grand Teton, Middle Teton, South Teton and Nez Perce. On Aug. 12 he had finished the trek in 8:21, six minutes slower than Lowe's incredible pace. On Aug. 23 he made the journey with Exum guide Kim Csizmazia, the first woman ever to accomplish the feat. The two circled the loop in 12:26.
On this third attempt, Garibotti had one goal - to do his absolute best. An Italian native who grew up in Bariloche, Argentina, he had been running on talus fields since he was 13. "If there's something I can do well, it's scrambling and running down rocky terrain," he said. In keeping with Unamuno's precepts, Garibotti said the challenge wasn't between him and the Tetons; it was solely within himself. "Whatever I had,I was making sure it all got out," he said.
What ensued simply defies comprehension. Wearing only a pair of shorts, a polypropylene shirt, sturdy socks and running shoes re-soled with sticky rubber, Garibotti blazed a trail few mortals can match. He carried no rope with only a windbreaker and one-quart water bottle slung around his waist. In 90 minutes he climbed nearly 6,000 vertical feet up Teewinot's east face to the 12,325-foot summit. From there he proceeded to the upper Koven Route on Owen, and after summiting Owen, he reached Gunsight Notch between Owen and the Grand at about 8:25 a.m. (elapsed time: 2:35).
From the Grandstand above the notch, he scurried up the Italian cracks on the north face of the Grand. By 9:10 a.m. he stood atop the 13,770-foot buttress but didn't pause long to enjoy the view. The day was breezy and overcast, ideal conditions for moving fast though the mountains. Mumbling mantras to stay focused, Garibotti headed south. He climbed down the Owen-Spalding route on the Grand and up the north ridge of the 12,804-foot Middle Teton by 10 a.m. After sweeping over the summit of the South Teton, he traversed east along the lesser peaks of Ice Cream Cone, Gilkey Tower, Spalding Peak and Cloudveil Dome before reaching the 11,901-foot summit of Nez Perce at 10:40 a.m.
"I got to see a lot of very, very pretty terrain," he said. "A lot of beauty all together. That's the fun of being alone and moving so quickly - you get to see a lot more."
The slightly built climber then bounded down the Garnet Canyon and Amphitheater Lake trails like a frightened deer as a light rain began to fall. He returned to his car in the Lupine Meadows lot at 12:39 p.m. Garibotti soon strolled into the Exum office near the south shore of Jenny Lake carrying two ice cream bars, two bottles of Gatorade and a can of Red Bull energy drink in his arms. "He showed up like he was going to work," said Exum office worker Cyndy Hargis. "He didn't even look tired."
Garibotti, known in the climbing world for his speed ascents in Yosemite and Patagonia, said he didn't feel wiped out physically. His mind was so exhausted, however, that it was free of all thoughts, and he actually felt quite relaxed, he said. "Physically, the traverse is not that consuming," he said. "Mentally, it's a lot more difficult."
Czismazia, 32, called Garibotti "the Bionic Man" and likened his feat to Michael Jordan redefining what was possible in the game of basketball. "Rolo definitely stands out amongst climbers," she said. Garibotti said the highlight of the experience was returning to the trailhead without hurting himself. The climber typically downplayed the feat, crediting Lowe for his inspiration. "I might have the fastest time, but the fantasy and conception of this is all Alex's," he said. Lowe, who was killed by an avalanche in the Himalayas last October, was a first-year Exum guide when he first made the Grand Traverse in 1988. On descending the Middle Teton, he slipped and tore a chunk out of his buttocks. Exum owner Al Read remembers Lowe returning to the office with copious amounts of blood caked on his butt and legs. Lowe, too, was quick to downplay the competitive nature of setting a speed record for a climbing feat. "Climbing is sort of an isolated activity in which you are really competing with yourself," he told writer Mark Krouse, who has included the Grand Traverse in his 50 Favorite Climbs. "To me, the best climber in the world is the one having the most fun."
Garibotti echoed that sentiment. "I don't view [the record] as something particularly special," he said. "Anyone can walk up to Amphitheater Lake for the first time and have the same richness of experience." Garibotti, who timed himself, said along the route he ran into other parties of climbers who could verify his record-smashing pace. "So I'm not bullshitting," he explained. "The time really doesn't matter. The fun exercise that day was searching within me for everything there was and making sure it all got out."
It all got out. Somewhere Miguel de Unamuno is smiling.
Bookmarks