Wolverine Bowl is a beautiful sub-alpine limestone area located just south of Ross Pass in the Bridger mountain range. This area offers an excellent summertime option close to Bozeman with it's great temperatures and excellent rock. The entire crag starts to go into the shade between 11:45 and 2:00, which make it a great later start crag as well.
The area is characterized by the stunning, well weathered blue Madison limestone that populates southwestern Montana. Most of the routes here are very typical to the Bozeman style which offer highly technical, slightly overhanging to slightly off vertical routes that will not only test your technique but your endurance as well. There are many longer routes at Wolverine so a 70m rope is highly recommended for most of the crags and a rack of 16 quickdraws will not go unused on quite a few routes. Although all most all of the modern routes in this area are completely bolted there are still some older mixed routes that require gear. They will likely not be mentioned in this guide for the time being, but will possibly be added in the future.
Being that this area is in a sub-alpine to alpine environment, proper planing for a day up at Wolverine is important. Having at least two liters of water, extra clothing and sustaining food is definitely important due to the high elevation of the area. Bear spray might also not be a bad idea. It is also important that you bring and wear a helmet. Some of the crags at this area are protected but rock fall can be frequent in drainages in between them due to snow thawing and mountain goats (especially in the spring). Please be aware and be safe.
Also given that this is a newer area, there is still development going and some of these newer routes may be a bit dusty still. If you get on a new route that is a little dirty, do your part and give it a little once over on your way down. The community will thank you for it! Please also comment on route's quality and grades if you think they should be different.
*And a note to developers, please be courteous of the people that are using this area to climb for recreation. If you are developing a route that at all has a danger of releasing rockfall anywhere close to anyone please clean it when there is little to no people up there. This will make for a more enjoyable and safer experience for everyone. Thanks!
Bozeman, MT
Montana
Bozeman, MT
On getting there, the part where you are NOT SUPPOSED TO CROSS THE CREEK, the beaten foot path is literally 20 feet before the creek, so just go to the creek, and backtrack a bit. It's hard to find at first, but obvious once you are on it. Jul 15, 2024