Wind River Range Rack

The towering peaks that dot the range hold stellar granite pitches in a remote setting. The classic climbs on Pingora and the Wolf’s Head are popular for a reason: the rock is solid, the climbing engaging, and the views spectacular in all directions. And if you prefer absolute solitude, there are cirques deeper in the Wind River Range that rarely get repeated—undiscovered classics just waiting to be climbed.

Of course, the logistics for climbing in the Wind River Range—usually called “The Winds” by lovers of the range—are rather complex. You have to be a strong backpacker with overnight gear and an adept alpine climber. The shortest “approach” to any of the climbing areas is roughly 12 miles with nearly 4,000 feet of gain. All the routes are remote and above treeline, where thunderstorms can roll in without warning. Your nearest “towns” are Pinedale, Dubois, and Lander, each hours from any trailhead, and only Lander has more advanced services like a grocery store and hospital.

You need to be prepared before heading out into the Winds.

But what gear should you bring? And what is the best rack for the Winds? You don’t want to bring your whole gear room; that will make for a heavy backpacking pack, but you don’t want to be 4 pitches up, below the crux, and missing a key cam. In this article, we offer a suggested starting point for a Wind River Range climbing rack and gear list. This list was built by climbers who know the routes, whether they felt the exhilaration of summiting or learned hard lessons while bailing.

Depending on your route, you will need to swap out pieces of gear or bring extra cams of certain sizes, but the list below covers the basics that will set you up for success in the classic zones of Cirque of the Towers, Deep Lake, or the challenging Mt. Hooker at Baptiste Lake.