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4267 Hits
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81.84% Score
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14 Votes
Page Type:
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Mountain/Rock |
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Lat/Lon:
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45.06553°N / 109.95925°W |
Activities:
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Hiking |
Season:
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Summer, Fall |
Elevation:
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10260 ft / 3127 m |
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Overview
Fisher Mountain from Above Lulu Pass
When Mother Nature created Greater Yellowstone, one of her opera magna, she did not take future SummitPost pagemakers into consideration, for she constructed peaks in places that do not easily fit into the ranges nearby but rather strongly take after two neighboring ranges at once.
She particularly seemed to enjoy doing this where the wild, sprawling Absaroka Range was concerned.
Around the Cooke City area, where the Absarokas and the Beartooths converge, it gets murky. No passes serve as textbook dividers. The Boulder River drainage does, but it does not go far enough south to split the two ranges around Cooke City.
Fisher Mountain lies in this hinterland. Although it is closer to "obvious" Beartooth Peaks, it is not made of the granite that typifies the Beartooths. Yet it is also not made of the crumbling breccia that one comes to know and semi-love in the Absarokas. But mining is an obvious part of the peak's history, which screams Absaroka and not Beartooth.
Nevertheless, the few sources on this that I have found place Fisher among the Beartooths.
The "climb" is short and easy, perfect if time is limited or you just feel like something easy. On a day that I had to backpack in to establish camp for a climb the next day, climbing this peak and its close neighbor Henderson Peak early in the morning was a nice morning outing. One could also pair it with Scotch Bonnet Mountain, its neighbor on the other side of Lulu Pass.
False Summit of Henderson, Fisher Mountain
Even though the route is mundane, the views are not. Among the sights are the eastern Beartooths, dangerous and challenging Index and Pilot Peaks in the Absarokas, the Montana Absarokas, and the remote Absaroka peaks of northeastern Yellowstone.
Don't go expecting much of a wilderness experience, though. The peak rises above a pass along a popular ATV track, and there are many other ATV tracks in the vicinity. Although you probably will not see other people while on the peak, you probably will hear and see machines. But you will also see a lot of mining ruins, which are always cool for reasons I can't really explain. Mining scars actually mar the lower slopes of this peak, in fact.
 Miller Mountain |  Miller Mountain and Mineral Mountain |
Getting There
Shortly east of Cooke City, turn north onto a road signed for Lulu Pass. Drive nearly 3 miles to the intersection of the road to Lulu Pass (left) and the road to Goose Lake (right). There is some room to park here if you have low clearance and want to walk the remaining 3 miles to Lulu Pass. However, I was able to drive a Subaru Legacy to within half a mile of the pass.
One can also reach Lulu Pass via Daisy Pass, the turnoff for which is between Cooke City and the turnoff for Lulu Pass. This was will require 4wd beyond Daisy Pass, which is about 2 miles from Fisher's summit. Actually, near the summit, I saw a 4wd track heading down to the Jeep road below, and I am assuming they do connect, so it is possible that with the right vehicle, one could drive to within a few yards' walk of the top.
Fisher Mountain from the East
Route
From Lulu Pass, just head up the slopes. It's less than half a mile, with about 400' of elevation gained, to the top.
Fisher Mountain Summit
Red Tape
None.When to Climb
Summer and early fall, though because the area is an snowmobile playground in the winter, you could climb it then, too.
Camping
There are some campgrounds off U.S. 212 near Cooke City. However, dispersed camping is widely available along the roads to Lulu Pass and Daisy Pass, and it is free. Watch out for the grizzlies, though.
Fisher Mountain from the East