Gannett Peak WY

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ChrisinAZ
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by ChrisinAZ »

I did Gannett in late June last year with one other partner, neither of us having been in that part of the Wind Rivers before, and myself being pretty inexperienced with glacier travel. We came in via the Rez, which is the shortest (but a very expensive!) way in. I think if you study up on the route beforehand, it's pretty straightforward in the overall sense; on a smaller scale, we found there were sections of trail that were very faint and difficult to follow, particularly the first nine miles before we met up with the Glacier Trail.

Not interested in going back either (I just don't have the time anymore), but it remains one of the three best climbs I've ever done. The key to making this an easier climb is doing an eastern approach and timing it where the approach is melted out, but the 'schrund is still easily crossable; aside from near and above the 'schrund, we found crevasse danger that time of year to be almost nonexistent with a well-chosen route. This'd be early/mid July in an average year, late June in a low snow year. I wrote a TR on this site that should give you some helpful info for the eastern approaches; if you have any more questions, feel free to PM me.
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norseman
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by norseman »

I also went in via the Rez in late July. We were driven in part way to the trail head, 6 days round trip from there. The "schrund" was there with a snow bridge across which we ascended roped. A solo climber came up behind us and left after a minute on the summit. On our way down we found the bridge collapsed, had to jump the "schrund" roped again. Skeets were around but not unbearable. Great trip, beautiful campsite in the boulder field near the creek. When we arrived at the trailhead on pick up day we found a cooler full of beer and soda from the kid who dropped us off. We sat under a cottonwood tree and enjoyed some cold ones.
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misubri
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by misubri »

thanks for the info. From what I have heard so far, I might be better off going earlier in the season and perhaps doing the longer Dubois route. I was hoping to find someone who had done the route previously and wanted to go again, but I think that is going to be impossible to find. I can imagine that with the length of this hike/climb that most people would have the sentiment of "Done it and once is enough" in that it is very time consuming.
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climbing_rob
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by climbing_rob »

norseman wrote:. The "schrund" was there with a snow bridge across which we ascended roped. A solo climber came up behind us and left after a minute on the summit. On our way down we found the bridge collapsed, had to jump the "schrund" roped again.
Yeah, we were in late July as well (the 21st? 22nd?) and the bridge was really thin, we expected it to collapse at any time. Sure wouldn't have wanted to jump it on the way UP. Fairly easy on the way down (roped!). So yeah, earlier is better, depending on the year's snow.
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susanjoypaul
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by susanjoypaul »

misubri wrote:I can imagine that with the length of this hike/climb that most people would have the sentiment of "Done it and once is enough" in that it is very time consuming.
Bingo. Hiking 50 miles roundtrip, carrying all that camping and climbing gear, is exhausting. I did it from Dubois and it's one of my most memorable hikes - and probably the one I'm most proud of - but I would not do it again. You never really know what the conditions are going to be like on the glacier until you get up there, so you have to carry a lot of gear "just in case." We carried a rope, ice screws, harnesses, etc. and never used any of it - just cramponed straight up Gooseneck Couloir to the summit.

There are several trip reports on this site with detailed route descriptions that you can use as reference for finding your way. My advice is to carry a lot of insect repellent or wear a mesh-style suit over your face and body, and only carry a liter or two of water at a time (to cut down on pack weight) as there are many water sources along the way where you can filter as you need it. It's a magnificent peak, though. And bring a camera... the views are amazing!
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ChrisinAZ
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by ChrisinAZ »

misubri--have you posted looking for partners on summitpost? I think you would find a wider audience there, and odds are good you'd be able to find a partner with enough advance notice.

I second everything Susanjoypaul said--it's a very long trip, but an incredible one you'll never forget. For me, one of the tipping factors in going was that I was about to start school again, and reach a period of several years where long trips--this one in particular--would be impossible due to time constraints.

I found long sleeves, bug spray, and a cheap anti-mosquito headnet from REI were quite sufficient in protecting against bugs. And yes, you can usually get by on 1-2 liters, though I'd have the ability to carry more on summit day. If you come in via the Rez route, I can highly recommend the two campsites I used, as well as our general schedule (day 3 = summit day, day 5 = rest day at Echo Lake). Your (and your partner's) call on whether shaving off 15 miles total is worth $300 apiece...
"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason."
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misubri
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by misubri »

I did try Summitpost.org and interestingly I hardly got any responses! Like three only. But I will keep checking back there though. I just now see that someone else posted something about the glacier conditions there.
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rijaca
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by rijaca »

misubri wrote:thanks for the info. From what I have heard so far, I might be better off going earlier in the season and perhaps doing the longer Dubois route. I was hoping to find someone who had done the route previously and wanted to go again, but I think that is going to be impossible to find. I can imagine that with the length of this hike/climb that most people would have the sentiment of "Done it and once is enough" in that it is very time consuming.
I wrote this elsewhere but it's worth posting here as well. I've done Gannett twice by the same itinerary each time, approaching from Elkhart Park. We used an outfitter to do a gear drop at the lower end of Titcomb Basin (above Island Lake). We then moved to a higher camp at the upper end of Titcomb Basin for the summit day. Fremont Peak can be climbed in a half day from the gear drop location (Indian Pass/Titcomb basin trail junction). We broke up the approach to two days and camped near Seneca Lake on the way in. Bring a fishing rod and lots and lots and lots of mosquito repellant, and netting/coverings, etc. I don't think that you can go wrong with either route, but IMHO Titcomb Basin is a very special place.
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by spiderman »

I am leading a group of people up Gannett from the Glacier Trail route, starting on July 31st. One of my friends is trying to finish the CONUS state highpoints on that trip. Probably will be a 5-6 day trip since some of the people are not fond of ultra-light backpacking ](*,). I already have way to many people already in the group to have good logistics, but if you are on the trail during that time we can share some campsites and stories. Send me a PM if you are going during that timeframe.

I did both the Glacier Trail and the Titcomb Basin route; if you are in great shape the Titcomb Basin path is faster. The summit day by that path is much harder than Rainier's... from the Glacier trail the summit day is much easier. We had to break the final day from Titcomb Basin to the peak and back into three separate days to avoid climbing up steep slopes in the warmth of the mid-day. Either way, it has been some of the best hiking in my entire lifetime. Sure beats trying to stealthily sneak past the fearsome Graham red squirrels in pitch blackness or the arduous ascent from the parking lot of Mt. Lemmon to the true peak.

I have a hard time recognizing every else's pictures since I last did the peak in late-May.
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by CO Native »

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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by mtn_nut »

if i had more time available, i would definitely go back. i love the wind rivers and i've taken three extremely fun backpacking trips there. when i do gannett again, i would want to make it into a more adventurous off trail tour. i would take east torrey creek to bomber lake, up the gulley south of bomber lake to the goat flat, then west to no mans pass, and then south past downs lake to grasshopper creek, west along grasshopper creek to grasshopper glacier, then south along the grasshopper glacier and gannett glaicer, accending gannett's north face (45* snow route, alpine ice in late season). i might go for a few of the other peaks along the grasshopper glacier and some of the peaks south of gannett if i had the time, and probably after all that, i would just hike back along the normal glaicer trail.

when i took the standard route in july 2010, i used trail runners, microspikes, and a snow axe to solo it, and used a very light backpacking setup. i doubt you would need more, so leave your mountaineering boots at home, and if i was to do it again, i would bring my steel kts crampons instead of microspikes for doing the harder north face.
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Re: Gannett Peak WY

Post by susanjoypaul »

mtn_nut wrote: when i took the standard route in july 2010, i used trail runners, microspikes, and a snow axe to solo it, and used a very light backpacking setup. i doubt you would need more, so leave your mountaineering boots at home, and if i was to do it again, i would bring my steel kts crampons instead of microspikes for doing the harder north face.
Ha! I was postholing up to my knees in July... ...trailrunners probably would not have worked well. Others have experienced waterfall ice on this route. Conditions can vary - a lot :-D

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