Page Type: | Mountain/Rock |
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Lat/Lon: | 44.40280°N / 107.175°W |
Elevation: | 13005 ft / 3964 m |
The jagged profile of this peak set it apart from most of the rounded domes in the Bighorn Range of Wyoming. It is the second tallest in the range after Cloud Peak. It is a very remote and obscure peak, with the shortest approach being around 14 miles from car to summit. Considering this, it is still incredibly worthwhile. The scenery enroute is some of the best the Bighorns have to offer. The climb is a bit of an adventure due to the lack of published routes. It is safe to say that Black Tooth Mountain very seldom sees any traffic.
Black Tooth Mountain has several options for an approach, the Little Goose Trail being the shortest. The Little Goose Trailhead can be reached off of the Red Grade Road, otherwise known as forest road 26 which heads west into the mountains out of Big Horn, Wyoming (south of Sheridan). I'm not going to go into great detail about directions because you will most certainly need to look at a map yourself. The Bighorn National Forest map covers the driving route/routes around and into the National Forest area. Several different maps are available for the Cloud Peak Wilderness area, my favorite being the National Geographic version. All of the easiest approaches culminate at Spear Lake which is due north of Black Tooth Mountain. From here the approach to the base is due south up a large glacier carved valley full of small lakes, all of which are above treeline.
No special permits are required except your basic generic wilderness permit available at the trailheads.
I assume that the few times every year that the mountain is climbed would be between July and September, the approach being incredibly difficult at any other time. The Bighorns don't recieve a huge amount of snowfall. The shallow snowpack and extremely cold temperatures make for the worst depth hoar I have ever collapsed into. By the time the snowpack has consolidated in spring, the snow is too patchy for reasonable travel. If you climb this mountain in winter, you are an animal.
Camping in the Cloud Peak Wilderness is unlimited.
Thorodin - Jul 28, 2005 2:19 pm - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentIt's also possible to approach Black Tooth from the south, via Wilderness Basin - this is a much shorter and easier trip. The SW ridge of the mountain is accessible from here, a nice long scramble climb of about 5.4 or so starting from the Bonney's pass 105.