Sunrise over Grand Teton, as seen from the summit of Middle Teton in late August 2025.
I set out for Middle Teton a little after midnight. There were several groups I ran into early on that were still coming down from their late afternoon and sunset summits, but otherwise, the trail was empty. As I approached the scrambling portion, there was a little more route-finding, but nothing crazy, and I appreciated not having to watch out for rockfall from climbers above (as there weren’t any).
I got to the summit at dawn and was surprised by how close I felt to Grand Teton. The headlamps of the Grand Teton climbers seemed to snake up the mountainside, and the valley below seemed to carry their voices. The headlamps quickly died out in the growing dawn light, and the wind would hush over the valley as the sky took on a pink glow.
The sunrise came slowly and seemed to emerge from where the Snake River met the horizon. It provided some beautiful color to the mountainside and incoming clouds, going from faint pink to bright red to deep orange before the sun dipped behind the clouds for good.
