Jeff Greenwald made a career of travel and has written six books about his adventures, like diving with sharks or rescuing a snow leopard in Tibet. But he is not a rock climber. Though he has done more than a dozen treks in the Himalaya, he had never been tempted by the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. But at 60-years-old, Greenwald decided to make the trek. At 13,770, the peak rises about 7,700 feet above Wyoming’s Gros Ventre Valley. It is one of the most accessible and photogenic mountains to climb in the lower 48, Greenwald writes. About a thousand people summit it each year. Climbing the Grand Teton requires more skills than a day hike. Exum Mountain Guides, who took Greenwald on the journey, requires two intense days of “climbing school” before anyone can attempt the peak. Greenwald went through the training, only to be told that he wasn’t ready. His trainer said he wouldn’t take Greenwald up the Grand. So instead, Greenwald hiked with them as far as the Saddle, which is 12,000 feet high, and getting there involves roped climbing. So Greenwald did that, and while at Saddle, he found himself at peace. He realized that he is a hiker, not a climber and that he always will be, “until he has something else to do.”
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