Wyoming 13ers

Overview

The state of Wyoming has 35 ranked peaks over 13,000 feet; the vast majority (31) of these mountains are in the spectacular Wind River Range, and the others are located in the northern half of the state in the Teton (1), Absaroka (1), and Big Horn (2) ranges. Most of the 13ers are tightly bunched together and are located in the Gannett Peak (19), Downs Mountain (2), Fremont Peak North (4), and Fremont Peak South (5) quadrangles, which are adjacent to each other in the heart of the Winds.

Wind River Peak is located alone near the southern end of the Wind River Range. Many of these summits are remote and challenging technical climbs, and are climbed infrequently when compared to the 14ers in Colorado. In fact, as of 2020, only 5 people have publicly come out with completing the list. They are described in the list below.

A note on prominence

Note that due to prominence calculation differences between major peak databases, the WY 13ers list (as well as many other lists) may appear different depending on where you look. The authorative database for the WY 13ers is without a doubt the Lists of John one, which can be found here. John uses a more accurate method for calculating prominence by averaging between the contour line above a peaks key saddle and the one below from data shown on the official USGS quads. He also adds 20 feet to the highest closed contour for unnamed peaks without an elevation marked on the map. In this method, his averaging will provide the best chance for a full comprehensive list.

The Peakbagger site bases its lists using a much more restrictive "Clean Prominence" rule, meaning in order for a peak to be included on their list, the peak must have the required number of contour lines shown between the lowest contour above the peaks key saddle, and the highest closed contour at its summit. This method most certainly would omit many peaks that have a very high chance of having the required prominence, but since many peak elevations are not labelled on the maps, and virtually no saddle elevations are marked on the maps either, the only way to really build a full list when peaks hover around the prominence cutoff value is to use the averaging method John uses (which is the same method almost everyone in the peakbagging community uses). In the American Rocky Mountains as a whole, the required prominence cutoff to be considered its own peak is 300 feet.

The Peakbagger site is a major outlier here, so if you use their lists for your information, note that you will very likely not be climbing all the required peaks, as dictated normally by the local communities.

Thanks to John Kirk for uploading more of his fantastic pictures for this page, and to his Lists of John website for the elevation, prominence, and YDS numbers. Regarding the YDS difficulty ratings, note that these values on the list below will differ from Johns website because I have firsthand information based on my experience climbing all 35 of the peaks and I have rated the peaks based on what is very likely their easiest routes, which are all the routes I climbed. This list includes only peaks with 300 feet of prominence; going back to the Peakbagger issue you'll see The Sphinx and Spearhead Pinnacle are soft-ranked on the Peakbagger site, but not on the LoJ site. The Peakbagger page also includes various unranked Wyoming 13ers, but does not include ranked Peak 13180. See this page for more information.

Finally, there is some uncertainty regarding the Twin Peaks, located just above Knapsack Col between Titcomb Basin and the Peak Lake cirque. It is generally regarded the East Twin Peak is slightly higher, but after numerous attempts made by the 5 finishers to determine whether West Twin Peak is truly lower, it was not conclusive. Therefore, until someone goes up there with a surveyors sight level (at a minimum), it is going to be customary to climb both the Twin Peaks to be certain. Simple line of sight tests done by myself while standing on West Twin concluded the two peaks are very likely within 10 feet of one another.

One last note - these are serious peaks and should not be taken lightly. It would be a great idea to at the very least have climbed peaks of all difficulty ranges in more rugged places like the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, Beartooths etc before attempting a full boar attempt of the Wyoming 13ers. Knowledge of how to use ropes in moderate alpine climbing settings as well as a general understanding and experience with glaciers is also required. Climbing even all the Colorado 14ers would likely not prepare you sufficiently for this list. Experience is gained by simply doing it more and slowly increasing your comfort levels both with regards to climbing ability and exposure, proper use of technical gear, and with having general mountain sense.

The highest mountain in Wyoming, Gannett Peak -- photo by Dave K

Wyoming's most famous 13er, the Grand Teton -- photo by musicman82

Wyoming 13er List

Rank	Image	Peak Name	Elevation	Prominence	YDS Class	County	Quad	Easiest Route
1		Gannett Peak	13,804	7,076	4	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	Gooseneck Route
2		Grand Teton	13,770	6,550	5.4	Teton	Grand Teton	Owen Spalding
3		Fremont Peak	13,745	1,184	3	Fremont/Sublette	Fremont Peak South	South Slopes
4		Mount Warren	13,722	982	3	Fremont	Gannett Peak	SW Chute
5		Mount Helen	13,620	840	4	Sublette	Gannett Peak	East Ridge
6		Turret Peak	13,620	640	5.0	Fremont	Fremont Peak North	North Ridge
7		Mount Sacagawea	13,569	469	4	Fremont/Sublette	Fremont Peak North	East Ridge
8		Jackson Peak	13,517	737	3	Fremont/Sublette	Fremont Peak South	SE Ridge
9		Mount Woodrow Wilson	13,502	522	5.1	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	North Couloir
10		Bastion Peak	13,494	674	3	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	North Slopes
11		Mount Febbas	13,468	728	2	Fremont	Fremont Peak North	From Blaurock Pass
12		Sunbeam Peak	13,460	600	2	Fremont	Fremont Peak North	From Blaurock Pass
13		Flagstone Peak	13,450	830	2	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	North Ridge
14		Pinnacle Ridge	13,365	345	4	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	North side
15		Downs Mountain	13,349	1,569	2	Fremont/Sublette	Downs Mountain	Various
16		Mount Koven	13,265	445	5.3	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	South Ridge
17		The Sphinx	13,258	318	3	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	NW Ridge
18		Spearhead Pinnacle	13,220	320	5.3	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	North Ridge
19		American Legion Peak	13,205	945	3	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	South side
20		Bete Noire (Brown Cliffs HP)	13,198	1,058	3	Fremont	Fremont Peak South	West side
21		Wind River Peak	13,192	2,572	2	Fremont/Sublette	Temple Peak	South Slopes
22		East Twin Peak	13,185	405	2+	Sublette	Gannett Peak	West Ridge via Mammoth
23		Peak 13180	13,180	320	3	Fremont/Sublette	Gannett Peak	SE side
24		Cloud Peak	13,167	7,077	2	Big Horn/Johnson	Cloud Peak	SW Ridge
25		Desolation Peak	13,155	935	3	Sublette	Gannett Peak	SE Ridge
26		Split Mountain	13,155	575	2+	Sublette	Gannett Peak	West Ridge
27		Francs Peak	13,153	4,056	2	Park	Francs Peak	Various
28		Henderson Peak	13,115	775	4	Sublette	Gannett Peak	North Ridge
29		Klondike Peak	13,114	664	2+	Sublette	Gannett Peak	East Ridge
30		Peak 13062 (South Downs Mountain)	13,062	442	2	Fremont/Sublette	Downs Mountain	Various
31		Ellingwood Peak (Harrower Peak)	13,052	912	4	Sublette	Fremont Peak South	SW Ridge
32		Bow Mountain	13,020	680	3	Sublette	Gannett Peak	NW Ridge
33		Mount Whitecap	13,020	600	4	Sublette	Gannett Peak	NW Ridge
34		Black Tooth Mountain	13,005	665	4	Big Horn/Johnson	Cloud Peak	NE Ramp
35		Knife Point Mountain	13,001	661	3	Fremont/Sublette	Fremont Peak South	South side

Additions and CorrectionsPost an Addition or Correction

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Matt Lemke - Aug 28, 2020 10:51 pm - Hasn't voted

All peaks added

I added SP pages for all the remaining peaks on this list, and adopted and reworked 10 others. Also, the YDS ratings have been updated. Thanks!

Viewing: 1-1 of 1