Wind River Range

July 17-24 2022

Wyoming’s mountain peaks

– Via the Ink Wells Trail and the Glacier Trail  –

About the Wind River Range

Wyoming’s Wind River Mountain Range (also known as “the Winds”) is one of North American’s more scenic and remote mountain ranges. This rugged 100-mile chain contains seven of the largest glaciers in the Rocky Mountains, more than 1,300 named lakes, and Gannett Peak, Wyoming’s highest mountain.

Summiting Gannett Peak was on my highpointing bucket list, but it’s considered one of the more arduous states high points to attain. Some aspects of the mountain’s difficulty are its remote location deep in the Bridger Wilderness and the very narrow weather window for climbing the peak. Other challenges include the mountain’s steepness (7,076′ of clean prominence) and technical aspects that include glaciers, a couloir, and a bergschrund. In short, climbing Gannett Peak is actual  mountaineering, not just hiking to a summit.

Rather than paying to climb Gannett Peak with a professional guiding company, I chose to attempt it as a mountaineering trip with the NOLS – a non-profit global wilderness school, where I had nine other climbers and three guides working together as a single team. This approach blended a wilderness experience with an educational curriculum rope handling, climbing, belaying, snow and ice work, and identifying mountain hazards.

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