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I've wanted to climb Gannett Peak for some time now, but have been put off by the stories of the unbelievable mosquitoes that plague the range in summer. But a climber in Jackson told me that by August, all of the mosquitoes are pretty much dead. Is this really true, because if so, I'd gladly go in August.

It's really good in September, too. Sometimes. Whenever things start to dry out they go away. Depends on the year, but they usually do fade by late summer.

August they can start going away, but it primarily depends on moisture, temps, and wind. The end of August will see fewer mosquitoes than the beginning, but again, it's not necessarily a rule. I've noticed a sizeable difference in the skeeter population in the Bighorns depending on the month. June and July they're fierce. August they START to die down, but I got mauled last year in early August on what I thought was a good dry period in the Bighorns. Then 2 weeks later they were completely gone....after a 22 degree night and 30mph winds that day. I went to the Cirque of Towers in the Winds on the 1st weekend of August this year. We timed a cool front coming through and managed to be NEARLY free of mosq's......1st day there were none, second day there were a few in the evening, 3rd day there were none. All of that being said, if you're planning on doing the Gooseneck Couloir on Gannett, late August will only work on a heavy snow year, even then it can be sketchy. If you do plan on that route, be prepared for the Bergie to be wide open. You may need to divert onto loose rock in order to get around it....which some are not willing to do. This is why most people go during the height of mosquito season, in Mid june - Late July......still enough snow on the bridge crossing the schrund. The worst I've EVER been mauled by mosquitos is in the Bighorns.....literally looked like smoke hanging in the air, but it was clouds of mosquitos. They bit through long sleeve shirt and pants, bug hat, spray......none of it worked. I ended up with bites through my shirt, ON MY BACK. They burrowed down under my pack.....sick lil freaks. My wife estimated I prob had 200 bites on my back alone. Lol....still had fun though! When you live near ranges known for mosquitos you just kind of accept them as an unfortunate nuisance.

I was out there last week, three nights at Island Lake.

Mosquitoes were around but never enough to be an issue. Only once did I put on any bug spray, and that was one evening when sitting around camp. Whenever I was on the move hiking or climbing, mosquitoes essentially did not exist.

Thanks, guys. Maybe late August/early September might work, although as WyomingSummits says, this may complicate the climb itself. I just remember some friends of mine going out in July about 15 years ago, and spent the whole time with mosquito netting over their heads. Pesky little suckers followed them all the way up Mt. Fremont, over 13,000 feet.

My usual climbing range is the Washington Cascades, and while mosquitoes there are a nuisance that can last all the way into September, they are rarely as bad as that experienced by my friends in the Wind Rivers in July. Our unique nuisance happens to be biting flies, which get worse in the North Cascades. I loved climbing in Colorado this June and early July. Not one mosquito to be found anywhere.