Mountain in the American state of Wyoming
Squaretop Mountain is an 11,695-foot-elevation (3,565-meter) mountain summit located in
Sublette County of
Wyoming , United States.
[3]
Geography
The peak is the emblematic geographical feature of the remote
Wind River Range and is set seven miles west of the
Continental Divide .
[5] It is situated in the
Bridger Wilderness on land managed by
Bridger-Teton National Forest .
Topographic relief is significant as the northeast aspect rises 3,700 feet (1,100 meters) above the
Green River in one-half mile. The iconic view of Squaretop and Green River Lakes has been on the
Wyoming license plate since 2016.
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification system, Squaretop Mountain is located in an alpine
subarctic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.
[6] Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as
thunderstorms in summer. Precipitation
runoff from the mountain drains north into the Green River.
Climbing
The
first ascent of Squaretop was made sometime before 1921 by William John Stroud (1854–1946), via the
class 2 southeast ledges.
Fred Beckey and
Layton Kor climbed the Northeast Face in 1960.
[7]
Other established climbing routes on Squaretop's walls:
[8]
West Gully – 1937 –
class 3 – H. H. Bliss
East Face Center – 1958 – (IV 5th) – Bill Byrd, Dave Dingman, Roland Wyatt
North Buttress – 1960 – (III 5.7) – Ed Cooper, Ron Niccoli
East Face Right – 1965 – (V 5.8) – Fred Beckey, Jerry Fuller
Southeast Face – 1971 – (II 5.6) –
Vince Lee , E. Park, M. Stephens, C. Zukowski
West Couloir – 1972 – (II 5.5) – Vince Lee, Bo Beckham, Greg Smith
West Face Dihedral – 1974 – (V 5.10) –
Greg Lowe ,
Jeff Lowe , Kent Christensen
East Face Left – 1984 – (V 5.10d) – Jeff Lowe, Renato Casarotto
West Face Right – 1992 – (IV 5.9 A2) – Scott Cole, John Malken
AC/DC – 1998 – (IV 5.10) – Andy Carson, Dan Carson
Miscreant Line and Conveyor Belt (East Face) – 2001 – (V 5.10d) – Tod Anderson, Skyler Crane, James Donnell, Ernest Moskovics
Marginally Orange – 2009 – (IV 5.10) Norm Goltra, Steve Walker
Hazards
Encountering
bears is a concern in the
Wind River Range .
[9] There are other concerns as well, including
bugs ,
wildfires ,
adverse snow conditions and
nighttime cold temperatures .
[10]
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,
[11] 2007 (involving an experienced
NOLS leader ),
[12] 2015
[13] and 2018.
[14] Other incidents include a seriously injured
backpacker being airlifted near
SquareTop Mountain
[15] in 2005,
[16] and a fatal
hiker incident (from an apparent
accidental fall ) in 2006 that involved state
search and rescue .
[17] The
U.S. Forest Service does not offer updated aggregated records on the official number of fatalities in the Wind River Range.
Gallery
See also
References
^
a
b
c
"Squaretop Mountain, Wyoming" . Peakbagger.com . Retrieved 2021-07-26 .
^
a
b
c
"Squaretop Mountain - 11,695' WY" . listsofjohn.com . Retrieved 2021-07-26 .
^
a
b
"Squaretop Mountain" .
Geographic Names Information System .
United States Geological Survey ,
United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved July 26, 2021 .
^ Joe Kelsey, 2013, Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains , Falcon Guides,
ISBN
9781493001354 , page 33.
^ Joe Kelsey, 2013, Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains , Falcon Guides,
ISBN
9781493001354 , page 37.
^ 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 .
^
Fred Beckey, 1961, North America, United States, Wyoming—Wind River Range, Northeast Face, Squaretop Americanalpineclub.org
^ Joe Kelsey, 2013, Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains , Falcon Guides,
ISBN
9781493001354 , pages 110–115, 419.
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ MacDonald, Dougald (August 14, 2007).
"Trundled Rock Kills NOLS Leader" .
Climbing .
Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022 .
^ 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 .
^ Dayton, Kelsey (August 24, 2018).
"Deadly underestimation" . WyoFile News .
Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022 .
^ Funk, Jason (2009).
"Squaretop Mountain Rock Climbing" .
Mountain Project .
Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
External links