Wind River Range
Overview
Gannett Peak from Bonney Pass (was Dinwoody Pass). Photo by David Kiene. Click on the photo for a chance to vote on it.
 |  |  |  |  |
Getting There
To use the south approach from Pinedale, drive US Highway 191 southbound from Jackson, Wyoming to Pinedale. From Rock Springs, Wyoming on Interstate 80, drive northbound on Highway 191 to Pinedale. At the east end of Pinedale where Highway 191 bears south, proceed east then immediately north on Fremont Lake Road, which soon becomes Forest Road 101. Continue 14.3 miles to a large parking area and the trailhead for the Pole Creek Trail, just beyond the Elkhart Park Ranger Station.
 |  |  |  |  |
Red Tape
Even though Gannett Peak and the approach trails are within the Bridger Wilderness, no wilderness permit is required.
 |  |
When To Climb
The best time of year to climb Gannett Peak is June through September, with optimal conditions occurring in July and August.
Camping
Camping is permitted within the Bridger and Fitzpatrick Wildernesses.
 |  |
Mountain Conditions
For current conditions for the south approach to Gannett, contact the Pinedale Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National Forest, PO Box 220, 29 E. Fremont Lake Road, Pinedale, WY 92941, 307-367-4326.
If you're approaching Gannett from the northeast (via Glacier Trail), the ranger station in Dubois, WY is the place to call for current info.: 307-455-2466
Etymology
(Contributed by Alpinist)
Henry Gannett (1846-1914)
Both Gannett Peak, the highest peak in Wyoming, and Mount Gannett in Alaska were named after Henry Gannett.
Henry Gannett was an early pioneer of geography and topography in the United States. He became the Chief Geographer of the US Geological Survey in 1882, just 3 years after its creation.
Gannett was also a member of the US Board on Geographic Names from its inception in 1890. He served as chairman from 1894 until his death in 1914. He played a major role in developing its organization, principles, policies and procedures, most of which are still in force.
Topographic Prominence
Gannett Peak has 7,074 feet of clean topographic prominence, which classifies it as one of the 57 Ultra-prominence peaks in the contiguous 48 states. It is the 15th most prominent peak in the group.
External Links
- Gannett Peak trip report
2001 Gannett Peak trip via the traditional Bonney pass route.
- Our June 2000 climb via Elkhart Park, Titcomb Lakes and Dinwoody Pass
- Pinedale Website
Contains local information, lodging, etc.
Additions and Corrections
[ Post an Addition or Correction ]
|
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | What is your source on this? I don't want to include the information without a reliable list of the glacier sizes in the lower 48 to which I can refer. Thanks! Bob | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 1:04 am | ||
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | I found a trivia quiz on the Wyoming State Museum website about the glaciers in the Wind Rivers. The specific reference is here. It claims that "the more than 50 glaciers in this range comprise the largest group of alpine glaciers in the United States outside of Alaska." This appeared highly unlikely to me, so I went looking for information about the glaciers in the North Cascades of Washington. Given the amount of snowfall in the North Cascades compared to anywhere in the Rockies, and given that more than half of the ice in the lower 48 states is found in the North Cascades (not even including Mt. Rainier, which has by far the most glacial ice of any single peak in the lower 48), I found it difficult to believe that the 50+ in the Wind Rivers comprised the greatest concentration. Indeed, according to this, there are 700 different glaciers in the North Cascades alone. Add to that the glaciers on volcanoes Rainier and Adams, plus the glaciers in the Olympics, and it becomes very difficult to believe that seven of the ten largest are found in Wyoming. But until we can find a reliable and comprehensive list of lower 48 glaciers, including acreage information, I won't close my mind to that possibility. However, just as the trivia quiz is clearly not based in fact, my guess is that your claim is also unfounded. If you can find such information, please post it here, and I'll keep looking as well. You've got me very interested in this! Thanks! Bob | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 1:36 am | ||
| desainme | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | In the chronicle of wasted time... I ran the topozone back and forth across the Wind Rivers from north of Gannet and still getting a couple of glaciers down south to Atlantic Peak. Set the picture at 100,000 and large size. Found 200 ice snow things at least the size of Mills glacier on Longs Peak. Maybe some Wyoming water management person has already done this. As Mark Twain said about the west: whiskey is for drinkin and water is for fightin. | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 12:57 pm | ||
| Klenke | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | Yeah, that trivia question is hogwash, bullpucky, malarkey, crapola, etc. etc. etc. I didn't need to investigate this to know, but I dug out my Earthwalk Press Wind River Range map and scanned for glaciers. While there are a number shown, there are nowhere near as many as in Washington. The Boston or Chikamin glaciers alone are bigger than most of the icefields in The Winds. Incidentally, most glaciers in The Winds are of the cirque variety, meaning they really only occupy the lower terraces of the cirque basins and have little crevassing (as compared to the types of crevasses we're used to up here in Washington). That is to say, Wind River Range glaciers don't flow over precipices, have ice falls, create nunataks out of mountains, etc. (not really anyway, or not in the ways that we're familiar with in WA). Glaciers in The Winds that are labeled on my map (going from south to north): Harrower Glacier (west side of Knife Point Mountain) Knife Point Glacier (east side of KPM) Bull Lake Glacier (east side of Jackson Peak) Upper Fremont Glacier* (east side of Fremont Peak) Lower Fremont Glacier* (east side of FP) Sacagawea Glacier (NE side of Mt. Sacagawea) Helen Glacier (NE side of Mt. Helen) Stroud Glacier (north of Mt. Arrowhead, west of Continental Divide) Twins Glacier (north of The Buttress, west of CD) Baby Glacier (ENE of Mt. Whitecap, west of CD) Mammoth Glacier (west of Mt. Woodrow Wilson, west of CD) Dinwoody Glacier** (east of Mt. Woodrow Wilson) Heap Steep Glacier (NE of Heap Steep Peak, east of CD) Gooseneck Glacier (east of Gannett Peak) Minor Glacier (west of GP) Gannett Glacier (north of GP) J Glacier (NE of White Hat Peak) Sourdough Glacier (north of Klondike Peak) Grasshopper Glacier (east of Pk 12705 on Continental Divide) Connie Glacier (NW of Yukon Peak, east of CD) Downs Glacier (east of Pk 12975 on CD) Continental Glacier (NW of Gjetetind) There are maybe 20 lesser icefields not labeled. * The "Fremont Glaciers" labeling on the map includes Sacagawea, and Upper & Lower Fremont glaciers. ** I am referring to the Dinwoody Glacier itself, not the Dinwoody Glaciers, which includes the range of icefields north from Gannett Glacier to Grasshopper Glacier. This icefield spans about 3 miles between the two but is not continuous (i.e., it is cleaved by intervening ridges). The largest glaciers on the map (in so much as the map might be construed as accurate) are the Grasshopper and Sacagawea with estimated (by me) areas of 1.6 sq. miles each. The Dinwoody and Mammoth glaciers are about 0.7 sq. miles each. In comparison, two of the largest non-volcano glaciers in the North Cascades are the Chikamin Glacier on the north side of Dome Peak and the Boston Glacier on the north side of Boston Peak. The Chikamin covers an area of 5 sq. miles, the Boston 2.7 sq. miles. Two other large non-volcano glaciers are the McAllister on the north side of Eldorado Peak (2.1 sq. miles) and the Inspiration on the east side of Eldorado (2.0 sq. miles). There are at least six others that I can think of that are pretty big. All told, the comparison seems to soundly indicate that the North Cascades alone have more glacier ice than The Wind River Range. Here's what Fred Beckey has to say in his (green) Cascade Alpine Guide (Vol. 2, 2nd Edition, p. 200): "The Cascade Crest in this section is the most heavily glacierized along the range axis. The glaciers in this section are a substantial portion of 317 within the boundaries of North Cascades National Park, which alone contains about one-third of the glaciers in the 48 contiguous U.S. (the state of Washington has about 800 glaciers covering 160 sq. miles)....There are some 23 significant glaciers between Cascade Pass and Dome Peak. The largest is the Chikamin Glacier, consisting of nearly 5 sq. miles of ice." | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 4:12 pm | ||
| Felsberg | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | Hi Guys - I'm not from your parts so dont pretend to offer any specifics, but I do know of a reference that may settle your arguments, and that you will find interesting; its a USGS pub : "Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World -- North America" The link: Glaciers of the Western US (USGS - 3.2MB pdf) and the parent pub: Satellite Image Atlas - Glaciers of North America (USGS - html) Enjoy - jeff | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 5:22 pm | ||
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | Paul, I know even less about the Olympic Range glaciers than I do about the North Cascades glaciers, but I've got to believe that the Blue Glacier is one of the larger ones in Washington. Also, as I recall the South Cascade Glacier was once considered the largest in the North Cascades, but it has been shrinking rather dramatically in the last 30 or 40 years. Any idea how big it is? Also, how do the glaciers on Mt. Baker and Glacier Peak stack up size wise against the non-volcano biggies like the Chikamin and Boston? | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 5:42 pm | ||
| Klenke | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | Jeff Moore's first link below provides the answer on Table 1 (see page 9): Washington's total glaciated area = 428 sq. km (165 sq. mi) North Cascades total glaciated area = 267 sq. km (103 sq. mi) Olympic Mountains total glaciated area = 46 sq. km (18 sq. mi) Wind River Range total glaciated area = 32 sq. km (12 sq. mi) It appears the Wind River Range has the most glaciated area outside of Washington. Even the Olympic Range has more ice than The Winds. Info given in my Olympic Climbing Guide (3rd Edition, p. 20): "Mt. Olympus ranks third in the amount of glaciation on a single peak in the 48 contiguous United States, with the Hoh Glacier being the longest." This link says the Hoh is the longest but the Blue is the largest at 5.3 sq. km (2.0 sq. mi). For the South Cascade Glacier, Beckey (in 1989 figures) gives it a length of 2.3 miles and a width of 1,000 to 3,500 ft. On page 3 of this link data is given for the shrinking size of six glaciers in the North Cascades. Specifically, the South Cascade Glacier has shrunk from 1.0 sq. miles in 1958 to 0.8 sq. miles in the 1990s. The answer to your last question is fairly obvious. The volcano glaciers are generally much larger but there are certainly smaller volcano glaciers than the Chikamin or Boston (Inter Glacier, for example). I don't care to run the numbers to get exact area values. Feel free. | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 6:22 pm | ||
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | Thanks Jeff. From the USGS document, here's a table showing the places where ice is found in the lower 48. This pretty much says it all I think. Bob  | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 8:36 pm | ||
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | I've always thought it was kinda interesting that Glacier National Park is so named when three other areas and another single peak have more glacier than it has. For what its worth. -Bob | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 8:43 pm | ||
| loopperu | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | a more important question than how large specific glaciers are, or where they are currently found, involves how they respond to c limate change, how fast they advance or receed, why those glaciers are there in the first place and exactly how they flow. glacier national park is named for the integrated effect of 1+ million years of glaciation that shaped the peaks and valleys that make it the beautiful landscape it is today. | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 10:06 pm | ||
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | Based on the dialog here, I think I'll not post the claim. I'd sure like to find out where she got that idea. Anyone have any idea how to contact Rebecca Woods? | |
| Posted Mar 19, 2004 7:33 pm | ||
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | Thanks George. Actually, others have suggested that I add the weather link to my pages, and I've thought about it. For some peaks it makes some sense, but at least for Gannett I'm not sure there's much value in it. Few people I know would get to the peak by the following day even if they have computer access in Pinedale, so the forecast available at the timetemperature.com site isn't far enough out to be of much help. There's a ten-day forecast available from weather.com and I'm sure other sites, but even that tends to be not very helpful in my estimation. However if it might help, I could add that to the Mountain Conditions sections or somewhere. For example, here's the current ten-day forecast from weather.com for Pinedale.. Note the dissimilarity between the two forecasts for Monday night (if you see this post very soon, like on Sunday the 15th). BTW, please note that the link associated with the supplied timetemperature.com weather "map" in your post is broken - can that be fixed? I'll give it a try below: Well, I tried the link provided, and it still doesn't work. Hmmm, looks like that site has some problems. Maybe I'll use the weather.com link. Thanks! Bob | |
| Posted Aug 15, 2004 11:53 am | ||
| Alpinist | Untitled Comment | |
Voted 9/10 | Hi Bob - I agree with you that weather forecasts are not 100% accurate, particularly when traveling to a remote area. However, I still find them useful for monitoring weather trends. I'll check the weather every day or two for 2 weeks preceeding a trip to see what the weather is like. In summer, it usally gives you a pretty good idea of conditions, unlike winter when a blizzard can occur on short notice. It's very convenient to be able to do that at a glance from the mountain page in SP... Cheers, George | |
| Posted Aug 15, 2004 3:50 pm | ||
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | I added the timetemperature.com weather "map", but the link takes you to the www.weather.com 10-day forecast for Pinedale.  | |
| Posted Aug 15, 2004 9:48 pm | ||
| rpc | Untitled Comment | |
Voted 10/10 | If you're approaching Gannett from the northeast (via Galcier Trail), the ranger station in Dubois, WY is the place to call for current info.: 307 455 2466 | |
| Posted Jul 18, 2002 3:46 pm | ||
| Bootboy | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | Gannet peak is flanked by sevaral glaciers in the Windriver Range. The range is home to 7 of the ten largest glaciers in the lower 48 | |
| Posted Mar 2, 2004 10:59 pm | ||
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | What is your source on this? I don't want to include the information without a reliable list of the glacier sizes in the lower 48 to which I can refer. Thanks! Bob | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 1:04 am | ||
| Bob Bolton | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | I found a trivia quiz on the Wyoming State Museum website about the glaciers in the Wind Rivers. The specific reference is here. It claims that "the more than 50 glaciers in this range comprise the largest group of alpine glaciers in the United States outside of Alaska." This appeared highly unlikely to me, so I went looking for information about the glaciers in the North Cascades of Washington. Given the amount of snowfall in the North Cascades compared to anywhere in the Rockies, and given that more than half of the ice in the lower 48 states is found in the North Cascades (not even including Mt. Rainier, which has by far the most glacial ice of any single peak in the lower 48), I found it difficult to believe that the 50+ in the Wind Rivers comprised the greatest concentration. Indeed, according to this, there are 700 different glaciers in the North Cascades alone. Add to that the glaciers on volcanoes Rainier and Adams, plus the glaciers in the Olympics, and it becomes very difficult to believe that seven of the ten largest are found in Wyoming. But until we can find a reliable and comprehensive list of lower 48 glaciers, including acreage information, I won't close my mind to that possibility. However, just as the trivia quiz is clearly not based in fact, my guess is that your claim is also unfounded. If you can find such information, please post it here, and I'll keep looking as well. You've got me very interested in this! Thanks! Bob | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 1:36 am | ||
| desainme | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | In the chronicle of wasted time... I ran the topozone back and forth across the Wind Rivers from north of Gannet and still getting a couple of glaciers down south to Atlantic Peak. Set the picture at 100,000 and large size. Found 200 ice snow things at least the size of Mills glacier on Longs Peak. Maybe some Wyoming water management person has already done this. As Mark Twain said about the west: whiskey is for drinkin and water is for fightin. | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 12:57 pm | ||
| Klenke | Untitled Comment | |
Hasn't voted | Yeah, that trivia question is hogwash, bullpucky, malarkey, crapola, etc. etc. etc. I didn't need to investigate this to know, but I dug out my Earthwalk Press Wind River Range map and scanned for glaciers. While there are a number shown, there are nowhere near as many as in Washington. The Boston or Chikamin glaciers alone are bigger than most of the icefields in The Winds. Incidentally, most glaciers in The Winds are of the cirque variety, meaning they really only occupy the lower terraces of the cirque basins and have little crevassing (as compared to the types of crevasses we're used to up here in Washington). That is to say, Wind River Range glaciers don't flow over precipices, have ice falls, create nunataks out of mountains, etc. (not really anyway, or not in the ways that we're familiar with in WA). Glaciers in The Winds that are labeled on my map (going from south to north): Harrower Glacier (west side of Knife Point Mountain) Knife Point Glacier (east side of KPM) Bull Lake Glacier (east side of Jackson Peak) Upper Fremont Glacier* (east side of Fremont Peak) Lower Fremont Glacier* (east side of FP) Sacagawea Glacier (NE side of Mt. Sacagawea) Helen Glacier (NE side of Mt. Helen) Stroud Glacier (north of Mt. Arrowhead, west of Continental Divide) Twins Glacier (north of The Buttress, west of CD) Baby Glacier (ENE of Mt. Whitecap, west of CD) Mammoth Glacier (west of Mt. Woodrow Wilson, west of CD) Dinwoody Glacier** (east of Mt. Woodrow Wilson) Heap Steep Glacier (NE of Heap Steep Peak, east of CD) Gooseneck Glacier (east of Gannett Peak) Minor Glacier (west of GP) Gannett Glacier (north of GP) J Glacier (NE of White Hat Peak) Sourdough Glacier (north of Klondike Peak) Grasshopper Glacier (east of Pk 12705 on Continental Divide) Connie Glacier (NW of Yukon Peak, east of CD) Downs Glacier (east of Pk 12975 on CD) Continental Glacier (NW of Gjetetind) There are maybe 20 lesser icefields not labeled. * The "Fremont Glaciers" labeling on the map includes Sacagawea, and Upper & Lower Fremont glaciers. ** I am referring to the Dinwoody Glacier itself, not the Dinwoody Glaciers, which includes the range of icefields north from Gannett Glacier to Grasshopper Glacier. This icefield spans about 3 miles between the two but is not continuous (i.e., it is cleaved by intervening ridges). The largest glaciers on the map (in so much as the map might be construed as accurate) are the Grasshopper and Sacagawea with estimated (by me) areas of 1.6 sq. miles each. The Dinwoody and Mammoth glaciers are about 0.7 sq. miles each. In comparison, two of the largest non-volcano glaciers in the North Cascades are the Chikamin Glacier on the north side of Dome Peak and the Boston Glacier on the north side of Boston Peak. The Chikamin covers an area of 5 sq. miles, the Boston 2.7 sq. miles. Two other large non-volcano glaciers are the McAllister on the north side of Eldorado Peak (2.1 sq. miles) and the Inspiration on the east side of Eldorado (2.0 sq. miles). There are at least six others that I can think of that are pretty big. All told, the comparison seems to soundly indicate that the North Cascades alone have more glacier ice than The Wind River Range. Here's what Fred Beckey has to say in his (green) Cascade Alpine Guide (Vol. 2, 2nd Edition, p. 200): "The Cascade Crest in this section is the most heavily glacierized along the range axis. The glaciers in this section are a substantial portion of 317 within the boundaries of North Cascades National Park, which alone contains about one-third of the glaciers in the 48 contiguous U.S. (the state of Washington has about 800 glaciers covering 160 sq. miles)....There are some 23 significant glaciers between Cascade Pass and Dome Peak. The largest is the Chikamin Glacier, consisting of nearly 5 sq. miles of ice." | |
| Posted Mar 3, 2004 4:12 pm | ||
|
