Bighorn Peak, Northeast Cirque, Bighorn Mountains. In August, 1977, David Roberts and I spent a week climbing in the east-facing cirque that lies between the summits of Bighorn and Darton Peak. Just north of a prominent gully that marks the westernmost point of the cirque is a steep, south-facing wall. We did a five-pitch route up the right-center of this wall, topping out in a pretty dihedral. The rock was better than it looked from the ground. NCCS II-III F8. At the cirque’s southernmost point is a steep fin, 1200 feet high, separated from the main cirque wallby a dirty gully on its left (east). A large, black, exfoliating hole lies near the bottom of this fin’s north wall. Starting just left of the black hole, we put up a pleasant twelve-pitch route. The climbing was on good rock and continuously in the F6 to F9 range. The crux was a small roof on a vertical wall, 40 feet from the top. NCCS IV, F9.

Jonathan Krakauer