During the last 25 years of the 19th century, the mountains of the Teton Range became a focal point for explorers wanting to claim first ascents of the peaks.
However, white explorers may not have been the first to climb many of the peaks and the earliest first ascent of even the formidable Grand Teton itself might have been achieved long before written history documented it.
Native American relics remain including The Enclosure, an obviously man-made structure that is located about 530 ft (160 m) below the summit of Grand Teton at a point near the Upper Saddle (13,160 ft (4,010 m)).
Nathaniel P. Langford and James Stevenson, both members of the Hayden Geological Survey of 1872, found The Enclosure during their early attempt to summit Grand Teton.
Langford claimed that he and Stevenson climbed Grand Teton, but were vague as to whether they had made it to the summit.
Their reported obstacles and sightings were never corroborated by later parties.
Langford and Stevenson likely did not get much further than The Enclosure.
The first ascent of Grand Teton that is substantiated was made by William O. Owen, Frank Petersen, John Shive and Franklin Spencer Spalding on August 11, 1898.
Owen had made two previous attempts on the peak and after publishing several accounts of this first ascent, discredited any claim that Langford and Stevenson had ever reached beyond The Enclosure in 1872.
The disagreement over which party first reached the top of Grand Teton may be the greatest controversy in the history of American mountaineering.
After 1898 no other ascents of Grand Teton were recorded until 1923.

By the mid-1930s, more than a dozen different climbing routes had been established on Grand Teton including the northeast ridge in 1931 by Glenn Exum.
Glenn Exum teamed up with another noted climber named Paul Petzoldt to found the Exum Mountain Guides in 1931.
Of the other major peaks on the Teton Range, all were climbed by the late 1930s including Mount Moran in 1922 and Mount Owen in 1930 by Fritiof Fryxell and others after numerous previous attempts had failed.
Both Middle and South Teton were first climbed on the same day, August 29, 1923, by a group of climbers led by Albert R. Ellingwood.
New routes on the peaks were explored as safety equipment and skills improved and eventually climbs rated at above 5.9 on the Yosemite Decimal System difficulty scale were established on Grand Teton.
The classic climb following the route first pioneered by Owen, known as the Owen-Spalding route, is rated at 5.4 due a combination of concerns beyond the gradient alone.
Rock climbing and bouldering had become popular in the park by the mid 20th century.
In the late 1950s, gymnast John Gill came to the park and started climbing large boulders near Jenny Lake.
Gill approached climbing from a gymnastics perspective and while in the Tetons became the first known climber in history to use gymnastic chalk to improve handholds and to keep hands dry while climbing.
During the latter decades of the 20th century, extremely difficult cliffs were explored including some in Death Canyon, and by the mid-1990s, 800 different climbing routes had been documented for the various peaks and canyon cliffs.
During the last 25 years of the 19th century, the mountains of the Teton Range became a focal point for explorers wanting to claim first ascents of the peaks. However, white explorers may not have been the first to climb many of the peaks and the earliest first ascent of even the formidable Grand Teton itself might have been achieved long before written history documented it. Native American relics remain including The Enclosure, an obviously man-made structure that is located about 530 ft (160 m) below the summit of Grand Teton at a point near the Upper Saddle (13,160 ft (4,010 m)). Nathaniel P. Langford and James Stevenson, both members of the Hayden Geological Survey of 1872, found The Enclosure during their early attempt to summit Grand Teton. Langford claimed that he and Stevenson climbed Grand Teton, but were vague as to whether they had made it to the summit. Their reported obstacles and sightings were never corroborated by later parties. Langford and Stevenson likely did not get much further than The Enclosure. The first ascent of Grand Teton that is substantiated was made by William O. Owen, Frank Petersen, John Shive and Franklin Spencer Spalding on August 11, 1898. Owen had made two previous attempts on the peak and after publishing several accounts of this first ascent, discredited any claim that Langford and Stevenson had ever reached beyond The Enclosure in 1872. The disagreement over which party first reached the top of Grand Teton may be the greatest controversy in the history of American mountaineering. After 1898 no other ascents of Grand Teton were recorded until 1923.
By the mid-1930s, more than a dozen different climbing routes had been established on Grand Teton including the northeast ridge in 1931 by Glenn Exum. Glenn Exum teamed up with another noted climber named Paul Petzoldt to found the Exum Mountain Guides in 1931. Of the other major peaks on the Teton Range, all were climbed by the late 1930s including Mount Moran in 1922 and Mount Owen in 1930 by Fritiof Fryxell and others after numerous previous attempts had failed. Both Middle and South Teton were first climbed on the same day, August 29, 1923, by a group of climbers led by Albert R. Ellingwood. New routes on the peaks were explored as safety equipment and skills improved and eventually climbs rated at above 5.9 on the Yosemite Decimal System difficulty scale were established on Grand Teton. The classic climb following the route first pioneered by Owen, known as the Owen-Spalding route, is rated at 5.4 due a combination of concerns beyond the gradient alone. Rock climbing and bouldering had become popular in the park by the mid 20th century. In the late 1950s, gymnast John Gill came to the park and started climbing large boulders near Jenny Lake. Gill approached climbing from a gymnastics perspective and while in the Tetons became the first known climber in history to use gymnastic chalk to improve handholds and to keep hands dry while climbing. During the latter decades of the 20th century, extremely difficult cliffs were explored including some in Death Canyon, and by the mid-1990s, 800 different climbing routes had been documented for the various peaks and canyon cliffs.
Grand Teton National Park