Absaroka Range Climbing

The Absarokas form the eastern edge of Yellowstone Park and are a mountain rampart stretching more or less from Togwotee Pass to Cooke City, MT. The region is vast, wild, home of the grizzly, and sees little traffic from man with a few notable drainages in their lower reaches. The volcanic flow and brecchia that are the bedrock of the range are visually striking while at the same time making for dangerous and unpleasant technical climbing. Many splendid summits are attainable by hiking and scrambling, however, and the range is a worthy objective if solitude and wilderness summits that might not see an ascent in a decade are appealing.
Francs Peak is one of Wyoming's few 13,000 foot summits, and above Cooke City, MT, but in Wyoming, are Pilot Peak and Index Peak, very striking summits with famous histories in the exploration of the American West. Pilot is a conspicuous technical challenge that is significantly more difficult than Grand Teton, by way of comparison.