Elevation: 11,000 ft
GPS: 41.341, -106.326 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views: 16,287 total · 104/month
Shared By: Petsfed on Mar 22, 2006 with updates from Davin Bagdonas and 1 other
Admins: Mike Snyder, Jake Dickerson, Taylor Spiegelberg
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Description

The closest alpine-ish climbing to Laramie, the Snowy Range (and all of its climbing) is visible from downtown Laramie. All of the climbing is on the east-facing slabs south of Medicine Bow Peak. Most of the climbing starts around 10,500', with many routes beginning above treeline. According to Jaquot's book, technical routes started going up in the 1950s, and continue to this day.

Long (up to seven 200' pitches), less-than-vertical quartzite routes, sometimes on bone-white stone. It's been said that higher grades are impossible in the Snowies, with their abundance of holds. Be prepared to run it out on all climbs. A standard rack is a single set of nuts, and a single set of cams from very small to 3".

Getting There

Take Snowy Range Road (Curtis Street) west out of Laramie to Highway 130. Follow this all the way to Lake Marie, where the shortest approach seems to start from the aptly named Lake Marie recreation area. A faint trail winds out of the picnic grounds to the edge of a scree slope, at which point it's cross country to the base of the routes. From the top of the routes, walk south until you reach the Medicine Bow Peak trail, and walk off from there.

7 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Medicine Bow Peak Area

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
AI1 Mod. Snow
 3
● Gooseneck Couloir
Trad, Ice, Snow, Alpine
Mod. Snow
 3
● Marie Couloir
Snow, Alpine
5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a R
 9
● Red Spot
Trad, Alpine 5 pitches
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b PG13
 3
● Sidewinder
Trad, Alpine 4 pitches
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
● Gooseneck Couloir
 3
AI1 Mod. Snow Trad, Ice, Snow, Alpine
● Marie Couloir
 3
Mod. Snow Snow, Alpine
● Red Spot
 9
5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a R Trad, Alpine 5 pitches
● Sidewinder
 3
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b PG13 Trad, Alpine 4 pitches
More Classic Climbs in Medicine Bow Peak Area »

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Photos

The Diamond Face from the Mirror Lake area.
The Diamond Face from the Mirror Lake area.
 1
A view of the 'Diamond' from Lake Marie in the early morning light.
A view of the 'Diamond' from Lake Marie in the…
 1
Looking at up into the crux of maybe "the ribbon option" in Grunge Gulley. Bring lots of rock pro but give it a go if it's in! May have some bad pins here and there in it
Looking at up into the crux of maybe "the ribbo…
 0
Good times in Grunge Gulley! Lots of fun!
Good times in Grunge Gulley! Lots of fun!
 0
North Side of Diamond Peak
North Side of Diamond Peak
 0
The Diamond.
The Diamond.
 0
Medicine Bow, June 2008.
Medicine Bow, June 2008.
 0
Joe Williams in no man's land, The Diamond.
Joe Williams in no man's land, The Diamond.
 0
The face to the right of the Diamond Face from Mirror Lake. School something.
The face to the right of the Diamond Face from…
 0
The face to the right of the Diamond Face from Lake Marie. School something.
The face to the right of the Diamond Face from…
 0
Diamond Face from the E side of Lake Marie.
Diamond Face from the E side of Lake Marie.
 0
Diamond Face from Lake Marie.
Diamond Face from Lake Marie.
 0

9 Comments

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Petsfed
Laramie, WY
Petsfed   Laramie, WY
Anything to the right of that pillar is dangerously loose since the major rockfall a few years back. Also, Skip's page is a little error prone as far as beta goes, and pretty error prone as far as names go. There's a guidebook available in Laramie at Cross Country Connection written by Ray Jaquot. The topos are pretty much impossible to read, but the route descriptions are pretty good. Nov 27, 2007
Conor Raney
Pinedale, WY
Conor Raney   Pinedale, WY
Hey Brian,

Just wondering if you could edit the page so adding areas are available? I would like to add Diamond Peak, MedBow Peak, etc. as areas so we can distinguish routes with mountains. I just don't want to have 2 Snowy Range Areas.

Thanks :) Oct 22, 2010
Conor Raney
Pinedale, WY
Conor Raney   Pinedale, WY
Actually, I should ask if it's okay if I make a new area and just copy all your info/pics over? Oct 22, 2010
Petsfed
Laramie, WY
Petsfed   Laramie, WY
Actually, years ago I tried to do precisely that, but then they deleted all of my empty crags since nobody else wanted to post up, and I had really hazy memories of my time on old Main and Triangle Buttress. You can totally take the info though, for whatever its worth. You'll have to ask the other people who posted photos though, I don't claim those. Maybe try contacting one of the area managers? Oct 24, 2010
Conor Raney
Pinedale, WY
Conor Raney   Pinedale, WY
Well thats a bummer!! But yeah I might try to reorganize the Snowy Page or something, cuz I would like to go up there sometime and put up new routes and have a place to record them lol. So i'll ask around, and see if we can't get this Snowy page looking good. Oct 26, 2010
Petsfed
Laramie, WY
Petsfed   Laramie, WY
Like I said, contact a mod/area manager/admin (whatever they're called around here). They're usually pretty responsive when it comes to suggestions for making the site better. Oct 26, 2010
Portwood
Your moms house last night
Portwood   Your moms house last night
Just went on a scouting trip to find possible ice. Any one know of any ice/mixed routes? Ive found some potential routes but it looks like all the snow gets blown off the summit so the potential for good ice to form looks a bit grim.
Potential Snowy Ice?
Nov 21, 2010
Petsfed
Laramie, WY
Petsfed   Laramie, WY
There's those left leaning gulleys on Triangle Buttress, and I've seen a short bit of blue ice on the right side of the big amphitheater below University Avenue (in the center of your picture). I've not heard of anyone climbing them though. Grunge Gulley (the couloir between the Diamond and Diamond Buttress) occasionally freezes up, but its more a challenge for skiers than climbers. We also get pretty good snow climbing, provided that the road opens while its still in good season. Part of the reason there isn't much info is because you need a snow mobile or a 3-day weekend to be able to get to any of these climbs, and to be honest, I've yet to meet a snow-mobiler up there who carried an avy-beacon, let alone a set of ice tools.

Also, this early in the season, the cornice hasn't formed up yet, so you can't see it. Those gulleys do get a lot of moisture. Nov 22, 2010
Davin Bagdonas
Davin Bagdonas  
In regard to the Snowy Range being the primary page and adding all else as smaller areas within the Snowy Range, PLEASE DO!

Maybe the routes on Medicine Bow Peak can be placed in a Med Bow Peak tab and other areas can be added? The 4 stories area is a sport crag that would also have its own tab under the Snowy Range page.

I have several dozen areas (boulders and routes) to add that would be individual tabs!!! All which are in the Snowy Range proper.

Thanks Brian for working on this! Nov 10, 2016