Peaks Climbed: Mount Hooker & Dike Mountain

Peak Heights: 12,504' / 12,468'

Route: East Ramp / North Ridge

Difficulty: Class 4

Location: Wind River Range, Wyoming

Trailhead: Big Sandy Opening

Mileage & Gain: 4.4 mi & 2,600 ft RT

Date Climbed: August 18, 2018

Mount Hooker is one of the most well-known peaks in the southern Winds. The 1,800 foot north face is Wyoming's tallest, steepest unbroken chunk of rock. This wall hosts some really hard routes that attract big time climbers like Tommy Caldwell.

Fortunately for us mere mortals, there is a wide ramp on the east side of the peak that offers a reasonable path through the otherwise impenetrable cliffs that guard the large summit plateau. Kelsey rates the route 3rd class, but any potentially 3rd class line through the brief crux area was dripping wet due to a melting snowfield atop the ramp. I pulled a few low 5th class (dry) slab moves on the way up, but then didn't want to reverse them on the way down. Instead I chimneyed down a slimy slot with flowing water.

Dike Mountain is a giant mound of boulders with a large black diabase intrusion near the top. It sits just a mile from Hailey Pass but the jaunt took me longer than expected because, you guessed it, more pesky boulder hopping. The summit is a spine of especially large and interesting ones, but I'd had enough and wasn't all that amused.