One of the many vibrant towns one passes through en route
to the Wind Rivers
|
Warren at Big Sandy campground, the trailhead for the
Cirque of the Towers
|
Hiking alongside the Big Sandy River on the way to the
Cirque of the Towers
|
Warren next to Big Sandy Lake.
|
North Lake, another lake one passes on the way to the
Cirque of the Towers
|
Warren and Arrowhead Lake, still partly frozen in mid-July
|
The Cirque of the Towers as seen from the pass above
Arrowhead Lake. From the left: Pylon, South Watch Tower,
Watch Tower, Shark's Nose, Overhanging Tower , Wolf's Head and Pingora.
|
Here I am next to Lonesome Lake and Mitchell Peak, just
beside the Cirque of the Towers
|
Our camp in the Cirque. Not visible in this picture
are the hordes of mosquitoes that unfortunately infest the area at
this time of year.
|
Warren starting out on the slabby first pitch of Pingora's
north-east face
|
This pitch is rated 5.8, but the way we did it felt at
least a grade harder. It's also quite sparesly protected.
|
Warren higher up on the "grass tufts" pitch. We
found the climbing to be steep and sustained all the way to the
top (10
or 11 pitches)
|
Warren approaching the summit of Pingora. The peaks
in the background are Warbonnet and the Warriors.
|
This is me on Pingora's summit. In the backround are
Overhanging Tower, Wolf's Head and Bollinger.
|
Warren on Pingora's summit. We didn't see a single
cloud the whole time we were in the Cirque, which is pretty amazing for
mid-summer.
|
Three rappels down Pingora's south side take one to
scrambling terrain.
|
Pingora as seen from the south shoulder. The ascent
route goes up the right-hand skyline (starting a lot lower down).
|
Warbonnet and Warrior I as seen from our campsite, in the
late afternoon sun
|
We'd originally planned to do more climbing, but the
mosquitoes were making life miserable, so we hiked out the next
day. Here's a farewell view of the Cirque.
|
We then drove north to Grand Teton National Park.
Here's the Grand
Teton, Mt. Owen and Teewinot as seen from the AAC Climbers' Ranch.
|
The Middle Teton as seen from Garnet Canyon.
|
Our camp in Garnet Canyon. We were feeling a bit
tired after the past few days' exertions, so we opted for a scramble up
the Middle Teton instead of a more intense climb up the Grand.
|
Warren hiking up a snowfield on the approach to the Middle
Teton the following morning.
|
Here I am on the summit of the Middle Teton, with the
south face of the Grand Teton towering up behind.
|
Warren descending the Middle Teton, with Icefloe Lake far
below. |
Moss campion (silene acaulis)
on the upper slopes of the Middle Teton |
We drove home just as the weather was starting to
change. On the way back we
made a brief detour to drive up Signal Mountain, from where one
has a classic
panoramic view of the Grand Teton, Mt. Moran, and Jackson Lake in the
forground.
|