Roberts Mountain

Roberts Mountain is a 12,774-foot-elevation (3,894-meter) summit in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States.^[3]

Roberts Mountain
Southeast aspect (skyline, center)
Highest point
Elevation	12,774 ft (3,894 m)[1]
Prominence	1,588 ft (484 m)[1]
Parent peak	Lizard Head Peak (12,847 ft)[1][2]
Isolation	9.99 mi (16.08 km)[1]
Coordinates	42°54′55″N 109°17′45″W[3]
Naming
Etymology	Reverend John Roberts
Geography
Roberts Mountain Location in Wyoming Show map of Wyoming Roberts Mountain Roberts Mountain (the United States) Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Wyoming
County	Fremont
Protected area	Wind River Roadless Area
Parent range	Wind River Range[4]
Topo map	USGS Roberts Mountain
Geology
Rock type	granitic gneiss[5]
Climbing
Easiest route	class 2[1]

Description

Roberts Mountain is located 2.5 miles east of the Continental Divide in the remote Wind River Range. It is the highest point in the Wind River Indian Reservation as well as the central portion of the range,^[4] and it ranks as the 55th-highest in Wyoming.^[1] Neighbors include Mount Lander, 2.54 miles to the south-southwest, and Pronghorn Peak 3.61 miles to the southwest.^[4] Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 2,000 feet (610 meters) above Roberts Lake in 0.75 mile (1.2 km) and 2,700 feet (823 meters) above Lake Polaris in 0.75 mile (1.2 km). Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains to the Little Wind River. In August 1978, Fred Beckey, Doug Randall, and Mark Meng climbed a 1500-foot route on the mile-wide east face of this mountain.^[5] This landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.^[3] Reverend John Roberts (1853–1949) was a missionary to the Shoshone and Arapahoe peoples of the Wind River Indian Reservation area and he was the first principal of the reservation's school.^[6]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Roberts Mountain is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.^[7] Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer.

Hazards

Main articles: Hazards of outdoor recreation and Mountaineering § Hazards

Encountering bears is a concern in the Wind River Range.^[8] There are other concerns as well, including bugs, wildfires, adverse snow conditions and nighttime cold temperatures.^[9]

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,^[10] 2007 (involving an experienced NOLS leader),^[11] 2015^[12] and 2018.^[13] A 54-year-old climber from Durango fell 400–800 feet to his death from Steeple Peak in 2017.^[14] Other incidents include a seriously injured backpacker being airlifted near Squaretop Mountain in 2005,^[15] and a fatal hiker incident (from an apparent accidental fall) in 2006 that involved state search and rescue.^[16] The U.S. Forest Service does not offer updated aggregated records on the official number of fatalities in the Wind River Range.

See also

• List of mountain peaks of Wyoming

References

1. "Roberts Mountain - 12,774' WY". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
2. "Roberts Mountain, Peakvisor.com". Retrieved May 28, 2024.
3. "Roberts Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
4. "Mount Roberts, Wyoming". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
5. North America, United States, Wyoming, Mount Roberts, East Face, Wind River Range, Fred Beckey, 1979, American Alpine Journal, americanalpineclub.org
6. Warren Murphy, The Reverend John Roberts, Missionary to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes, Wyohistory.org, November 8, 2014.
7. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.
8. Staff (April 24, 2017). "Bear Safety in Wyoming's Wind River Country". WindRiver.org. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
9. Ballou, Dawn (July 27, 2005). "Wind River Range condition update - Fires, trails, bears, Continental Divide". PineDaleOnline News. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
10. Staff (1993). "Falling Rock, Loose Rock, Failure to Test Holds, Wyoming, Wind River Range, Seneca Lake". American Alpine Club. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
11. MacDonald, Dougald (August 14, 2007). "Trundled Rock Kills NOLS Leader". Climbing. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
12. Staff (December 9, 2015). "Officials rule Wind River Range climbing deaths accidental". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
13. Dayton, Kelsey (August 24, 2018). "Deadly underestimation". WyoFile News. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
14. Nick Learned, Climber Falls to His Death in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, August 31, 2017, k2radio.com
15. Staff (July 22, 2005). "Injured man rescued from Square Top Mtn - Tip-Top Search & Rescue helps 2 injured on the mountain". PineDaleOnline News. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
16. Staff (September 1, 2006). "Incident Reports - September, 2006 - Wind River Search". WildernessDoc.com. Retrieved February 17, 2019.

External links

• Reverend John Roberts: Wyohistory.org