Climbing in the Wind River Range
I have been eager to get to the Wind River Range for years now. I distinctly remember seeing an article in an old issue of Climbing Magazine that had stunning pictures of the Cirque of the Towers. Beautiful meadows leading up to impossibly perfect looking granite spires. It looked like the kind of place that was too hardcore for me. But I was just entering the stage where I was starting to look at those sorts of things as personal challenges, and refusing to deny myself at least finding out more… and dammit, I got into climbing so I could start going to some of these dramatic places that I had previously been denied.
The Cirque of the Towers is home to two of the “50 classics”, a list of climbs in North America that Steck and Roper came up with back in the 70’s. It’s not a perfect list, but it was complete enough that it has been a defacto tick list for many, many climbers. Three routes on the list are in the Bugaboos, and I have been lucky enough to have climbed them all. Two routes are in the Cirque, and they were both high on the list of routes for Tom and I: Wolfshead and XX Ridge of Pingora.
So when I learned that my Experiential Learning requirement for my degree at the UW would have me out in July, I was in Dillon, MT for my geologic field training, I quickly started applying my “persuasion” techniques to Tom, a climbing buddy in the department who happened to be TA’ing the class. He didn’t need much persuasion. Tom is a buddy of mine from the department – a superb climber, and eager for classic, sustained, alpine rock.
The field camp experience was very intense; the instructor, Stu McCallum, had us working day and night. And because Tom and I were planning on heading down to the Cirque to nail some pretty long routes, Tom and I made our lives just a little harder by kicking our butts, climbing at the Humbug Spires area. The Humbugs are a lovely set of granite spires, the largest being ~400 vertical feet. By the time we were able to leave, we were both pretty ragged and eager to get away from the group of people we had been in close contact for three weeks straight.
Once Tom and I were done with the class, we separated from the rest of the group in Yellowstone NP. Our goal was to get to Jackson as quickly as was reasonable, stock up on food and any climbing/camping gear that we hadn’t already packed, and then head further south to sleep on the side of the road if we could. While I had taken a very quick, very frigid lake dowsing up near the continental divide, this puts my at something like 5 days since a proper shower. And we were planning on being in the Cirque for another 6 days or so…
We found a lovely spot off of the highway, a driveway that took us about 300 meters off the road and around a thicket of trees, so we were quite hidden from view. It was flat, grassy, there was a creek nearby, and there were no mossies. Tom got his first good night sleep in over a week, and it was good to see him wake up with a bit of a smile. He had been in the midst of emotional turmoil over a family issue, and had been having a pretty rough time. Getting out away from people into the wilderness seemed to be a good thing for him.
The next day, we repacked and resorted everything. Having not done a major outing together, we had a few details to get straightened out, and all of our gear was completely disorganized from the prior three weeks. What should have taken an hour took almost three… pushing our trail departure time dangerously late. We drove into ??? where we stopped for some more food and grabbed a beer and lunch at the local brewpub. Good food, great beer! An excellent way to start!
Then into the hills! The road into the Wind River Range was long and rough. I think I’ve been spoiled by some of the fantastic access we have in Washington. We didn’t hit the trail head until ~5pm. A much later start than I was hoping for with 10 miles and ~2500feet of elevation to go. It was hot, and the mosquitoes were out, making for a pretty uncomfortable beginning, but fortunately, our manic running through the Montana landscape had prepared us well for the altitude. The mosquitoes had an unintended benefit for us. Because we dared not stop and admire the scenery and take any rests, we actually were coming into Jackass Pass shortly after 9pm. It was quite cool at that point, and we were treated to a lovely moonrise in the twilight. We made camp and food as quickly as possible. Once in bed, we found that Tom had punctures his sleeping pad, so it would not inflate. This of course lead to another poor night of sleep for Tom.
Not only did Tom get a poor night of sleep, but when we awoke at the leisurely hour of 8am, we were met with a cloud of desperate, newly hatched mosquitoes. They were ravenous, and we stunk, so were getting mauled. The guy at the local gear shop had indicated that bugs wouldn’t be an issue, so we had no DEET, nor bug netting. It was truly terrible! We couldn’t sit still while we ate our breakfasts. It was the sort of situation that truly tests one’s ability to be Zen. Our good luck walked into camp as I was desperately pacing and stuffing a bagel into my mouth. A recently married couple were just leaving. They couldn’t stand the mosquitoes either. They donated their DEET. The stuff is magic! I don’t care what the stuff does to you in large doses, or the fact that it dissolves nylon… it works! Tom showed up and convinced them to sell him their Ridge-rest. What a boon! Now Tom can sleep in comfort for the rest of the trip.