Mount Hooker (Wyoming)

Mount Hooker (12,509 feet (3,813 m)) is located in the Wind River Range in the U.S. state of Wyoming.^[3] Mount Hooker was named for Joseph Dalton Hooker, the prominent 19th-century British botanist and explorer.^[2] The north and east slopes of Mount Hooker present some of the tallest and steepest vertical cliffs in Wyoming, and the peak is also remote, being more than 20 mi (32 km) from a road. The formidable 1,800-foot (550 m) north face of Mount Hooker was first climbed in 1964 by Yosemite Valley climber Royal Robbins, along with Dick McCracken and Charlie Raymond, who took over three days to scale the cliff face.^[4] In 2013, a team free climbed one pitch rated at class 5.14a, grade VI during a multiple-day ascent requiring five other pitches rated above 5.12.^[5]

Mount Hooker
The steep north face of Mount Hooker rises beyond Grave Lake
Highest point
Elevation	12,509 ft (3,813 m)[1]
Prominence	704 ft (215 m)[1]
Coordinates	42°51′09″N 109°18′15″W[2]
Geography
Mount Hooker Location in Wyoming Show map of Wyoming Mount Hooker Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Sublette and Fremont County, Wyoming, U.S.
Parent range	Wind River Range
Topo map	USGS Mount Bonneville
Climbing
Easiest route	class 5.0 to class 5.14a

Hazards

Main articles: Hazards of outdoor recreation and Mountaineering § Hazards

Encountering bears is a concern in the Wind River Range.^[6] There are other concerns as well, including bugs, wildfires, adverse snow conditions and nighttime cold temperatures.^[7]

Importantly, there have been notable incidents, including accidental deaths, due to falls from steep cliffs (a misstep could be fatal in this class 4/5 terrain) and due to falling rocks, over the years, including 1993,^[8] 2007 (involving an experienced NOLS leader),^[9] 2015^[10] and 2018.^[11] Other incidents include a seriously injured backpacker being airlifted near SquareTop Mountain^[12] in 2005,^[13] and a fatal hiker incident (from an apparent accidental fall) in 2006 that involved state search and rescue.^[14] The U.S. Forest Service does not offer updated aggregated records on the official number of fatalities in the Wind River Range.

References

1. "Mount Hooker, Wyoming". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
2. "Mount Hooker". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
3. Mount Bonneville, WY (Map). TopoQwest (United States Geological Survey Maps). Retrieved March 16, 2014.
4. Kelsey, Joe (January 1, 1994). Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains (2 ed.). Falcon Guides. p. 71. ISBN 978-0934641708.
5. MacDonald, Dougald (September 18, 2013). "5.14 on Mt. Hooker: Hardest Alpine Wall in Wyoming". Climbing. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
6. Staff (April 24, 2017). "Bear Safety in Wyoming's Wind River Country". WindRiver.org. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
7. Ballou, Dawn (July 27, 2005). "Wind River Range condition update - Fires, trails, bears, Continental Divide". PineDaleOnline News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
8. Staff (1993). "Falling Rock, Loose Rock, Failure to Test Holds, Wyoming, Wind River Range, Seneca Lake". American Alpine Club. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
9. MacDonald, Dougald (August 14, 2007). "Trundled Rock Kills NOLS Leader". Climbing. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
10. Staff (December 9, 2015). "Officials rule Wind River Range climbing deaths accidental". Casper Star-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
11. Dayton, Kelsey (August 24, 2018). "Deadly underestimation". WyoFile News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
12. Funk, Jason (2009). "Squaretop Mountain Rock Climbing". Mountain Project. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
13. Staff (July 22, 2005). "Injured man rescued from Square Top Mtn - Tip-Top Search & Rescue helps 2 injured on the mountain". PineDaleOnline News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
14. Staff (September 1, 2006). "Incident Reports - September, 2006 - Wind River Search". WildernessDoc.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2022.