We got to the TH at 7:30, and started walking. It was pretty cool i.e. not hot for the first couple hours. We were in the shade most of the hike to the meadows. Remember, there is a substantial boulder field before you get to the end of the meadows. It adds a good bit of time to the hike.
We took a half hour break at the meadows, took off our shoes, dried out socks, refilled water bottles etc. We got up here in two hours. I did notice here that my legs had some lead left over from doing Static the previous day, I would consider that in planning. Static is a great warm-up, but its more than a warm up. Definitely think about spacing days again. I think 2018 was the perfect way to do South plus Buck with a definitive rest day in between--legs had spring in them on Buck after the rest day.
After the Meadows we began the slog to the saddle. We estimated it would take 3 hours--it took us 2.5. Notably, there was hardly any snow along the way. Very significant change from last year, when we went two months earlier in the season. Last year we put crampons on in the meadows, which did nothing and were a huge pain. Again, crampons or even microspikes would have been completely unnecessary. The same rule applies for ski crampons, you don't need them unless the snow or ice is hard i.e. you're at the snowfield early in the day.
At the saddle things got a little strange. We decided to try and take our signature quick naps before heading up to the summit. No one fell asleep, but we got a good recharge in. Fifteen minutes into naps we were abruptly summoned by a girl who asked us if we knew which one was the South Teton and which one was the Middle Teton. We explained and then directed her to the South Teton and told her it was probably a better hike and less crowded. A group of about six of her friends followed her.
When we woke up we also noticed that Aubrey's feet had been destroyed by blisters. He had a few on the front of his toes. Pretty gnar. We tried to find something to pop them with. After offering her more advice, the girl who asked about South let us borrow a knife she had in her bag to pop blisters. It worked and we were on our way!
We started moving from the saddle at 1. There is that snowfield right after the saddle, in early season you have to cross it and axes are mandatory. Because of the time of year, however, we were able to only take a few steps on the actual snowfield and otherwise get right over it. Hard to say if axes were necessary, but there was definitely no harm in bringing them and I would advise to do so again.
We arrived at the mouth of the SW couloir about 45 minutes later. Notably, there was one group behind us. At the mouth of the couloir, this solo French guy wearing what looked like workboots asked us if we had any extra water. Skeptically, we gave him some of Roche's giant 2 liter thing not sure if it would have been better to let him go back down. Turns out he was in good shape, and scooted up to the summit quickly.
There was also a pair of Germans, I can't remember if they were in front or behind us. They were in decent shape as well, but one was kicking a bunch of rocks down on us. There were three groups including the really random French dude, who may have been a hallucination. We all arrived at the summit around the same time.
There wasn't anything too tricky about the couloir, as the guidebook says--there is one class four pitch that requires a couple climbing moves, but its totally manageable. Most friends would would be able to do this with some nerves.
There is a ton of loose rock in the couloir, because of the loose rock, and potential for falling on that one pitch, helmets are highly advisable! You SHOULD have a helmet. Everyone did great on the way up.
The summit is incredible! We got there at 2:30
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