Interesting that the Wyoming glacier total is less than 5 square kilometers more than that of Montana—but note that not all glaciers in those states are in the Wind River Range or GNP. This small town is a beautiful place to live, despite the recent surge of drilling activity as the area is proven to have excellent oil and gas deposits. No other place in the lower 48 has water flowing into this many major drainage basins.A mountaineer's introduction to the Winds is invariably either a trip to climb the popular rock climbing routes in the Cirque of Towers or an attempt of Gannett or Fremont Peaks. This website provides access to new, prioritized, assessment results and supporting data for the United States, as part of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). I believe as of 2011, they charged $75 to shuttle your vehicle from the Green River Lakes trailhead to Elkhart Park or vice versa. In fact, of the 35 ranked 13ers in Wyoming, all but three of them are found in the Winds. Regards, Neil Albaugh. Minor errors in the original DDS-30 (listed in DDS-35 and DDS-36) are corrected in this revised version and in the data files now released in DDS-35 and DDS-36. A paved road leads 15 miles northeast out of Pinedale, passing above Fremont Lake (second largest natural lake in Wyoming) and ends at Elkhart Park which is likely the most popular trailhead in the Winds. The consensus (which I don't dispute) seems to be that the Winds have more glacier area than GNP, but I've never seen documented sources on such (although the Winds do NOT have more than the rest of the U.S. Rockies combined—that claim should be removed from the body of the page). A couple more towers are passed over before reaching the narrow summit ridge, which holds the crux. GEOLOGY The Wind River Range is composed of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Depending on the weather you can then easily gain the crest and summit Downs Mountain (Class 2) and walk the crest over Point 13,062, Yukon Peak, Klondike Peak and then descend into Tourist Creek. At the top, trend right onto the North Face and follow face and cracks for another 5-6 pitches to the summit. Sierra Madre--Granite and granodiorite. The only Reservation trailheads accessible to the public without a native concessions vehicle are Saint Lawrence Basin and Mocassin Lake. Those days are less now and a general haze is often discernible (particularly with the increase in fires). Select Peaks; Indomitus Books - Jackson, WY, Bechtel, Steve (2008). Note that there are numerous rock climbing routes that lead to many smaller peaks around Big Sandy and the Cirque of the Towers so this list is by no means exhausting. Even those that have climbed in the Andes, the Alps, or Alaska speak fondly of their time spent here. The southwe… Also see this page for more information about access points into the Wind Rivers. The Du Noir described as a cliff-forming, thin-bedded, glauconitic and … Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 389 million barrels of oil and 1.8 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Niobrara interval of the Cody Shale in the Wind River Basin Province, Wyoming. The North Ridge of Ellingwood is one of those Rocky Mountain alpine adventures that is familiar-sounding to many, but few actually put in the miles required to climb it. The entire west side is managed by the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The elevation in the Winds is higher than in GNP, which one would assume to affect the rate of melting. I have been unable to locate an accurate glacial area figure isolating a total for either the Winds or GNP. I know the Sierra Nevada Range has many too, was pretty sure it had more than 63, so I looked it up on USGS website and it says: 'All perennial bodies of ice in the Sierra Nevada are listed and classified. It's also worthy to note the northern half of the range is mostly Gneiss and orthogneiss (metamorphosed Granite) while the southern half is more pure granite which gives the Cirque of the Towers its great climbing. The lion sat and stared at us until I made a move to get my camera out of my pack and in a flash he was gone. The This fantastic route is a real adventure, with a difficult approach above Deep Lake, 10 pitches of excellent but sustained granite climbing and a tricky descent. For mountaineers, throughout the range there are glaciers, snowfields, and couloirs offering fantastic snow climbs and requiring the use of axes and crampons. However cross country travel above treeline is relatively simple and one can spend days hiking from one massive alpine lake to the next camping anywhere you want as water and soft grasses can be found everywhere. The Wind River Range is a major barrier between western and central Wyoming and it separates the Wind River Basin to the northeast from the Greater Green River Basin to the south and southwest. There are entire valleys that see only a few parties per year.One doesn't have to be a mountaineer too long before you hear the question "have you been to the Winds?". Estimates are made of... Below are data or web applications associated with this project. Broacl 'belts of folded and faulted Precambrian, Paleozoic, ancl Mesozoic rocks surround the basin, including the Wind River Range on the west, the Washakie Range and Owl Creek and southern Bighorn Mountains on the north, the Casper arch on the east, and the Granite Mountains ou the south. Keep in mind that a Grade III, 5.8 can seem pretty stiff when you're two days away from the nearest trailhead. What can 10,000 years possibly mean to us, let alone 65,000 or 70 million? all on Map, 32 Stratigraphic cross sections of the Niobrara interval of the Cody Shale and associated rocks in the Wind River Basin, central Wyoming. Gannett Glacier, with an area of 3.3 kilometers is currently the largest U.S. Rocky Mountain glacier. If you'd rather stay on trails the whole time simply continue over Shannon Pass to the Jean Lakes which will take you back to the Highline Trail near Upper Seneca Lake. Middle: This area is somewhat lesser traveled. Two-day approaches are common to all the alpine, ice, rock and scrambling routes. Despite this, it's popular as it's the primary approach for The Cirque. Fewer people venture into the Winds from this side which is guaranteed to make for a more secluded and slower paced outing. The quality change has been measured in alpine lakes of the range in the form of acid rain. http://www.mcreynoldscpa.com/BeyondTrails#Guidebook This dryness allows the Bighorn Sheep Refuge to flourish and is the home of the world's largest winter herd. See the images below for a simplistic visual representation of the geology in the Wind River Mountains. There are dozens of examples in the section of the Rockies. I'll look more into it and see what I can find. This trailhead is also about 40 miles from Pinedale along a very washboarded dirt road that ends at Lower Green River Lake. So if you see a reference to a peak but can't find it on a government map, this could be the reason. National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: Areas of Historical Oil and Gas Exploration and Production in the United States; 2008; DS; 69-Q; Biewick, Laura R. H. Vitrinite Reflectance Data for the Wind River Basin, Central Wyoming; 2006; OFR; 2006-1015; Finn, Thomas M.; Roberts, Laura N. R.; Pawlewicz, Mark J. Geiss, 2010. Base-map... Introduction: The Wind River Basin is a large Laramide (Late Cretaceous through Eocene) structural and sedimentary basin that encompasses about 7,400 mi2 in central Wyoming. The Wind Rivers are one of the best places for long distance trekking in the entire country primarily because the crest of the range is over 15 miles from any road. Go out and explore the climbing potential for yourself! 57). In fact, the northeastern end of the range, in the Dubois rain shadow, the area is particularly dry most winters. I will add the info to the page. The range is bound by high desert on both the west (Green River Basin) and the east (Wind River Basin).The Winds are the apex of the contiguous United States as they are the hydro-logical triple divide. The area remains attractive for gold prospectors and has a rich and well-preserved history. The Wind River Journey from RTOS to 5G Verizon’s Srini Kalapala. The easiest way to gain the ridge is to scramble 4th and 5th class up the gully in between Pingora and Tiger Tower, summit Tiger Tower then do 2 40 foot raps onto the east ridge of Wolfs Head. For peaks or approaches anywhere on the Reservation a fishing permit must first be obtained from the tribes. The rocks exposed in the high Wind River peaks are a combination of Precambrian Gneiss belts and Granite plutons that have been shoved upwards during the Laramide orogenic event that uplifted the Wind River block 50-70 million years ago. The only off trail section on this variation is from Peak Lake to Titcomb Basin but well worth the little extra effort. Click on a pin on the map to see more information. The basin is bounded by the Washakie Range, Owl Creek uplift, and southern Bighorn... From 2000 to 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted 139 quantitative assessments of continuous (unconventional) oil and gas accumulations within the United States. The Highline Trail will connect these two popular west side trailheads however a better way to make the trek that will provide more beauty is to leave the Highline Trail where it junctions with the Shannon Pass trail and once at Peak Lake, continue over Knapsack col and drop into Titcomb Basin. Find Similar Products by Category. Wyoming and Montana, of course, top the Rockies in glacial area (actually, have more square kilometers of glaciers than any other state except Washington, which is in a class by itself). For example, theAconcagua mountain page has the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits' asparents and is a parent itself to many routes, photos, and Trip Reports. Interesting you mention this...one thing to keep in mind is the chance that when the USGS counted glaciers in the Sierra (which was likely over 20-30 years ago), there would have been many small glaciers still sticking around. View Wind River Range Image Gallery - 514 Images. Farson is a tiny settlement located at the intersection of US Highway 191 and State Highway 28 home to just 300 people. The range is home to many of the state’s highest mountains including Fremont Peak at 13,745 and Wind River Peak at 13,192 feet. I have ordered the towns in a clockwise direction around the range and describe what amenities are found in each below. Over hundreds of millions of years, rocks that were once covering this batholith eroded away. Superstition Wilderness. The southwest flank of the range is characterized by an extensive thrust fault system, with Precambrian rocks thrust south and southwest onto relatively flat-lying Tertiary rocks in the Green River Basin. There are numerous sites and some can be reserved in advance. The only ski area in the Wind Rivers (White Pine) is only a short drive out of town. Note that only ranked peaks are listed which are peaks that have at least 300 feet of clean prominence. Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Wind River basin province, 2005; 2005; FS; 2005-3141; U.S. Geological Survey. Many climbers seeking the summit of Gannett Peak use this as their approach. In fact, Welty's General Store used to be a common stop for Butch Cassidy who resided near Dubois in the late 1800's. This trailhead utilizes a long, 40 mile dirt road starting a couple miles east of Farson off Highway 28 and can be very rough on passenger cars. Wind River Range--Granodiorite to porphyritic and equigranular granite. There isn't much more than a single gas station and a small convenience store here. "Glacial Artistry in the southern Wind Rivers is unsurpassed" - Tom Turiano. Also, they don't necessarily share the same parent. See the linked SP page written by Sarah Thompson. This report documents those assessments more fully than previously done by providing detailed documentation of both the assessment input and output. Seven of the largest glaciers in the Rocky Mountains are found here, including the single largest glacier in the American Rockies. Most visitors, however will approach the range as three sections due to trailhead arrangement and length of the range. Many of these peaks offer the best alpine rock climbing in the entire American Rocky Mountain chain. What was here, we ask, when dinosaurs roamed, or when mountains were new? Dubois is located on the extreme northeastern corner of the Winds and is nestled in the valley between the Absaroka and Wind River mountain ranges. State Air Quality/Visibility Site. Fort Union Formation (Paleocene) at surface, covers 4 % of this area (Northwest, Southwest, and Central Wyoming) - Brown to gray sandstone, gray to black shale, and thin coal beds. Today, the highly resistant granitic rocks stand proudly high above the surrounding sedimentary basins and countless glacial events have carved out the U shaped valleys and steep cliffs we now see in the Winds. Real classic though! Its headwaters are at Wind River Lake in the Rocky Mountains, near the summit of Togwotee Pass (pronounced toe-go-tee) and gathers water from several forks along the northeast side of the Wind River Range in west central Wyoming. Besides being an important point along the Oregon Trail, South Pass was also the site of extensive lode and placer gold mining in the 19th century and of a surface iron ore mine and mill in the 20th century. Actually, the area surrounding the range (Fremont and Sublette Counties) is very sparsely populated and Sublette County on the west side is one of the least populated counties in the United States. Continue up the face (5.9 or 10), heading for a 200 foot long dihedral which can be seen from ground. Matt: Great update to the Wind River page. Ice lapped up to treeline on the Teton Range and extended across Jackson Hole nearly to the top of the Lower Gros Ventre Slide. Author of Diamond Deposits - Origin, Exploration, and History of Discovery, Economic Geology of the South Pass Granite-Greenstone Belt, Southern Wind River Range, Western Wyoming, Minerals & Rocks of Wyoming, Geological and geophysical investigations of kimberlite in the Laramie Range of southeastern Wyoming, Gemstones and other unique minerals and rocks of Wyoming, … There are two guide books for the sport climbing areas. Though less alpine than the northern section, ice axes can still be crucial. Climb 4 pitches of 5.5 to 5.8 climbing with good pro. Variegated claystone and lenticular sandstone; conglomeratic near south margin of Wind River Range. Encyclopedia | Mountaineer Finis Mitchell shared his love of the Wind River Range through postcards, public talks and a famed, hip-pocket hiking guide. Here is the direct link to the authors page where she sells it. Yeah I wasn't able to find a photo of Musembeah if you have one feel free to upload it and I'll put it up, In addition to the native wildlife mentioned here, let me add Mountain Lions. The Wind Rivers contain more than 40 named peaks over 13, 000 feet, including Gannett Peak, Wyoming’s highest at 13, 804 feet. You could also stay off the crest a little longer and hike past Daphne Lake and above Bear Lake into Bear Basin. There are numerous small towns that surround the flanks of the Wind River Range all of which offer various services and culture. This makes the crest peaks "disappear" as one nears this wide mountain range. The Wind River Range is a member of the Central Rocky Mountain chain. Lander is also the home of NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School founded by mountaineer Paul Petzoldt. The Louis Lake batholith, the older unit, is an I-type granitoid that formed by partial melting of trondhjemitic to tonalitic protolith of Early Archean age. Wind River drilled the #10-1 Ft Pierce to a total depth of 5006 ft in the Devonian Temple Butte formation. The Sierra Nevada Range is 400 miles long, and 50 to 80 miles wide, and has quite a few 14ers, and gets large snow fall totals on average, over portions, so it stands to reason it might have more. This ancient thrust fault has been measured to have a dip angle of about 30 degrees to the east. No data point selected. 1995 National Assessment of United States Oil and Gas Resources: Results, Methodology, and Supporting Data; 1996; DS; 30; edited by Gautier, Donald L.; Dolton, Gordon L.; Takahashi, Kenneth I.; Varnes, Katharine L. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Geospatial Data, United States Assessments of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Region 12: Pacific Islands (American Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Total organic carbon and pyrolysis analysis data for the U.S. Geological Survey Alcova AR-1-13 core hole, Natrona County, Wyoming, LAS digital data files for the U.S.Geological Survey Alcova AR-1-13 core hole, Natrona County, Wyoming, Tops file for the Niobrara interval of the Upper Cretaceous Cody Shale and associated strata in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming, 2005 Conventional and Continuous Assessment (. Once here, you can make a side trip to Indian Basin and end the hike along Seneca Lakes and past Photographers Point to Elkhart Park. It also contains the largest system of glaciers in the American portion of the Rockies. Back in 1968 (the olden days) two friends and I encountered a lion in a clearing just below the saddle of Horse Ridge. However today, I would bet many of them are merely just permanent snowfields, and no longer active glaciers. In 2013 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drilled a continuous core in the southeastern part of the Wind River Basin, Wyoming to evaluate the source rock potential of the Lower and lowermost Upper Cretaceous marine shales . "Beyond Trails in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming This up-and-coming climbers town also hosts the International Climbers Festival and all mountaineering shops and manufacturers in the region are located here, with the key exception being the Great Outdoors Shop in Pinedale. Space, in geologic terms, is an equally difficult notion, though we don't often recognize the difficulty. This is the best line in the central Winds located above Baptise Lake. This route has more glacier and steep snow/alpine ice climbing than rock climbing. The formation is 265 to 365 ft thick in the Wind River Range, 235 to 455 ft thick in the Washakie Range, Owl Creek, and southern Bighorn Mountains, 209 ft thick along south edge of Wind River basin. ", Slightly Uphill All the Way to the Bottom, Wind River Chronicles Part I ~ Cook Lakes, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Adventure Traverse (GREAT), Hiking, Mountaineering, Trad Climbing, Big Wall, Mixed, Scrambling, Skiing, Start of the Glacier Trail approach for Gannett Peak, This approach goes through the Indian Reservation and there have been issues with closures and fees. Most standard routes tend to be Class 3-4 on solid, enjoyable rock punctuated by short sections of trad climbing on ridges and arêtes, of an unsustained nature. A decent portion of the text was written my member "Jimmyjay" and I would like to credit and thank him for all the work he put into this page. This table is by no means comprehensive as there are well over 100 peaks in the Wind River Range between 12,000 and 12,999 feet. Aconcagua mountain page is a child of the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits.' Climbers though will likely find themselves using this route various times as it is generally the path of least resistance through various parts of the range. Lander is the largest town along the Wind Rivers with about 7,800 people and is the county seat of Fremont County. Also, the rapid melting of GNP's glaciers has been widely discussed and researched for many years; I know the same is occurring in the Winds, but have never seen information as to the rapidity and extent of glacier disappearance from that mountain range. Sweeping view of the Wind River Range near Lower Titcomb Lake, Mount Woodrow Wilson in the northern end of the range, Climbing Wolf's Head in the southern section, Squaretop Mountain from Green River Lakes. Course logistics include two weeks of camping and three weeks of lodging at our field station on the Timberline Ranch along the northeast flank of the Wind River Range. SUMMARY OF THE GEOLOGY OF THE WIND RIVER UPLIFT The Wind River Range, a northwest-trending uplift in western Wyoming, exposes Archean rocks over an area of more than 10 000 km2. The crux will vary a bit depending on the exact path chosen, but expect all manner of 5.6 climbing, including face, cracks, and overhangs. Between these two points, no road crosses or even penetrates the crest and it's entirely wilderness. While Gannett and "the Cirque" are certainly worthy goals (though the Cirque of Towers can be busy in July and August), the rest of the range is equally spectacular and, by California or Colorado standards, virtually empty. U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources Team, and Biewick, L.R.H., compiler, 2014, Map of assessed coalbed-gas resources in the United States, 2014: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series 69–II, 14 p., 1 pl., GIS data package, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds69ii. It can be purchased at various stores in Lander, Fort Washakie, Dubois or Riverton.Access issues have been a problem in the Dickinson Park area in recent years, and it may be easier to approach from Big Sandy. One trip to these common areas usually leads to many subsequent trips to the range as it typically takes the first trip to realize the general quality of climbing in the range as a whole and to fully ascertain the vastness of the range. Highline Trail - This is the main trail that stretches much of the Winds starting at the Green River Lakes and heading south along the west side of the crest. Large glaciers and high peaks with long and rugged approaches dominate here. Described below is the most popular and most classic trekking route for each side of the Wind Rivers. Along the east flank of the Wind River Range, Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata form a linear outcrop 1belt with uniform northeastward (basinward) dips of 12°-15°. Here is a listing of the ones most used though and which areas they provide access to. This west-northwest-trending range extends from the Absaroka Mountains' southeast end to the southern end of the Bighorn Mountains, and separates the Bighorn basin to the north from the Wind River basin to the south (fig. The only place to purchase amenities at the western foot of the range is Pinedale, a tiny mountain community that is fond of climbers/hikers and caters to outdoor tourism. Guide to the Wyoming Mountains, 3rd Edition; Swallow Press - Chicago, IL, Outfitters are popular in the Wind River Range. USGS Energy Resources Program provides periodic assessments of the oil and natural gas endowment of the United States and the World. There are many ways to make the trek but most people will make some type of through hike from Green River Lakes to Elkhart Park with a car shuttle. Many climbers have been spanked by convincing themselves in advance that Wind River routes are gimmes. Abstract #180207, Geological Soc of Am - Ann Mtg, Oct 31-Nov 3, Denver, CO. Quinton, E.E., D.E. This is however an excellent alternative to the standard route on Wyoming's highest peak. It is said the the grave of Sacajawea is located a few miles north of town. 1). Below are other science projects associated with this project. For rock climbers, there is valley after valley of large walls and a lifetime of new route potential. The Lower and Upper Wind River Campgrounds have shade trees, grass and interesting geological features. You can find detailed information about the various trailheads by visiting individual mountain pages. Climber Orrin Bonney gave the area its current name in 1941 after his survey of the cirque. Wind River Peak is the lone 13er to the south. These rocks range in age from a few hundred million to over three billion years old and have been magnificently sculpted by erosion and glaciations. USGS deposition monitoring data. the Wind Rivers look very nice. This is arguably the largest concentration of high peaks in the entire lower 48 outside Colorado. Parents refers to a larger category under which an object falls. Indian … This route begins above the Big Sandy opening. The northeast flank of the Wind River Range consists of a 96-mile-long band of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks exposed in a series of hogbacks and dip slopes that dip eastward into the Wind River Basin.