Wind River Range 2018 Conditions

Bugs in the Cirque aren't bad. I was comfortable without a head net and deet. It snowed on 7/28.... hope the party on NE Face of Pingora made it off okay!

Splitclimber, that is a fun route and as the other person posted once you get to the col between Overhanging Tower and Sharks Nose the decent down the gully isn’t bad. You have to pay attention in a few places but you don’t need to rap unless there is snow near the top, but it usually melts out pretty early in the season. Have fun.

thanks joeyja and norm.

I can't keep track of all the fires here in California let alone what's going on in Wyoming. Weather forecast is showing smoke. Any reports of smoke or any info on Fires in the area?
I'm only seeing fires in adjacent states which must be brining smoke and haze to the Winds.

​https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/​​​

splitclimber wrote:  I can't keep track of all the fires here in California let alone what's going on in Wyoming. Weather forecast is showing smoke. Any reports of smoke or any info on Fires in the area?

Brush fire outside of Evanston but our area has been fire-free so far this summer. We're getting a TON of smoke from Colorado, Montana, Idaho and Utah.

Anyone been in lately? Daily showers? Stable weather?

is a great resource for looking at localized weather for different parts of the Winds. I usually expect to see buildup late in the afternoon, but large storms will most often be present in the forecast. August is usually a little rainier than usual. I've seen snow during every month of the year, including July and August.

Last Monday I did 4 days in the winds and had the time of my life. 5 mosquitos. Perfect weather (only a small shower the first night). A superlative experience on every dimension. I'll be going again next year.

Here's my trip report: frugalprofessor.com/2018-wi…

Spent 5 days on the West side of Gannett last week, one late afternoon shower that lasted 15min & a few random snowflakes on the summit were all we had precipitation wise.  Bugs were tolerable, temps were nice, get after it!

I just got back from a short backpacking trip to Titcomb Basin. We had 1 fully sunny day and 1 day with afternoon rain. Had a few mosquitos, but bugs were not bad at all. For smoke, there was a pretty constant haze in the distance, but it didn't really impact us.

Anyone been to Cirque of Towers area lately? I am planing to go there at labor day weekend. How is the smoke there? My main interest is to taking photos. Hopefully it is smoke free.

Thanks in advance!

We just came out last night. It snowed quite a bit yesterday and cleared the smoke. Before that it was really bad. It all depends on what wind does in the next few days. Hopefully it’ll stay clear. Have fun.

Norm Larson wrote: We just came out last night. It snowed quite a bit yesterday and cleared the smoke. Before that it was really bad. It all depends on what wind does in the next few days. Hopefully it’ll stay clear. Have fun.

What elevations was it snowing? 

I'm headed there next week for a hike from Titcomb - Cirque and want to see if I should bring my spikes.

I'm thinking of coming out in about two weeks. How long can you typically rock climb in the Wind Rivers before snow and ice shut things down?

Allegra Davis wrote: Planning to climb in the cirque on Monday - with the recent snow should we be expecting ice on some of the routes?

YES!!!  It's unprecedented!  We did Pingora.....

coldfinger wrote:

YES!!!  It's unprecedented!  We did Pingora.....

Ha!  Yeah right.

Anyone have experience going into the Winds first week of October? I have some unexpected time off then, but don't know what to expect during that time weather wise (I have backpacked the Winds twice before in the month of July). I am just looking to backpack from Elkhart to Titcomb. Any insight is appreciated.

Auesta Safi wrote: Anyone have experience going into the Winds first week of October? I have some unexpected time off then, but don't know what to expect during that time weather wise (I have backpacked the Winds twice before in the month of July). I am just looking to backpack from Elkhart to Titcomb. Any insight is appreciated.

It will be pretty chilly at night, expect to see some snow and be prepared for a snow storm but.....

You won't see many people except for hunters (bring a few bright things to wear) and it's really really pretty.  Great time to visit if you're prepared.

Auesta Safi wrote: Anyone have experience going into the Winds first week of October? I have some unexpected time off then, but don't know what to expect during that time weather wise (I have backpacked the Winds twice before in the month of July). I am just looking to backpack from Elkhart to Titcomb. Any insight is appreciated.

First week of October you'll be fine. The weather is amazing that time of year. Mid-to-late October, different story.

Anyone been up to the titcomb basin lately? wondering if anyone has had an eye on tower 1 gully.