RRC Archives

go in june and climb at devils tower the whole time. with the voluntary closure drawing away many of the possible climbers, you'll have the place to yourself almost.

one thing though, if you like shitty trad climbing in the red, be prepared to have orgasms on even the worst routes at devils tower.

a friend of mine did pigora in july, he said the bugs were unbearable then. i would recommend doing the cirque early in the the year (1st june) or late (last august).

As to the question of timing the bugs-- much of it has to do with local weather. If it is a wet, warm year they will be active much longer. The Cirque of the Towers is highly recommended but plan on an alpine start for any high route in the Winds to avoid inevitable afternoon lightning. The guide to the Wind Rivers is one of the most engaging trail books I have read.

Winds (best place for alpine rock in Wyoming), don't go in June you'll be wading through slush, mud and likely getting rained/snowed on --wait until August/September. I'd also stay away from the Tetons in June for the most part, the weather is usually bad that time of year there and the rock climbing there will never be very good. Go to the Valley in June if you want good "alpine rock climbing".
Devil's Tower is also questionable in June but you'll get some climbing in as long as you aren't scared of bad Indian mojo.

OK, I've been to the Winds four times including a 5 week NOLS course. The late Aug./early Sept. advice is good except it may conflict with your school schedule. Early season, June trips are possible depending on the snowpack. There is actually some place online where you can get current snowpack maps but I would have to do some research to tell you where.

Do you have any alpine experience at all? At least some basic snow & ice skills would be advisable for most places in the Tetons or the Winds. Heck, now with all that disposable income of yours, you ought to consider a NOLS course for the coming summer!

Yeah captain, I'm planning on getting some instruction. I'm thinking of doing the exum guide's snow course so I can learn that wacky self arrest and glacier travel stuff. My mountain exerience is limited (a handfull of trips on non-technical terrain), but I know enough to avoid underestimating the danger.

the best way to learn that wacky self arest and glacier travel stuff is through experience. since glaciers are not abundantly found read up on how to read glaciers and understanding how they flow is a good idea and is some what simple. Mike clelland and Andy tyson put a good book together a couple years back that covers all the fundamentals of glacier travel and even crevasse rescue. i think climbing sales it but i'm not for sure. Also learning that wacky self arrest stuff can be fun just take your ice axe out on some snow slope (ski resorts on the east usually have decent snow packs) and practice your self arrest. Any professional instruction you can get is also a good idea

the jackson hole mountain guides taught me that stuff. they were really cool. practicing self-arresting is the most fun training i think i have ever had.

one of the things we did was walk out on a coulier until we broke through the surface and plummited onto the steep face below and then had to self arrest.