A picture is worth a thousand words...
The Grand Tetons are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. (The Rockies run from Alaska, through Canada and all the way to northern New Mexico.) The Tetons are totally within the Snake River drainage basin - meaning any snowmelt or rain runoff goes into the Snake. Some say the mountains were named by a French trapper; others say they were named after the Teton Indians. It's first English name was Mount Hayden in 1870, but I guess it wasn't as romantic sounding as "Teton," and by 1931 the USGS gave in and acknowledged "Grand Tetons" as the official permanent name.
The Grand Teton is the highest peak in the range at 13,770 feet. Mount Owen is the peak to the right and Middle Teton is on the left. (I think I got that right...) I thought I might find some information on climbing these peaks. What I found is that folks die way too frequently either climbing or skiing these peaks. That's right: skiing! They even have folks that climb the peak just to ski down - but there is a portion of that path that one has to rappel down with their skis on (?) because it's so steep.
Granpa and I think we will stay safely at the bottom. It's plenty pretty down here!
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