Mt. Hooker, Hooters

Wyoming, Wind River Range
Author: Hazel Findlay. Climb Year: 2017. Publication Year: 2018.

In mid-July, Jen Olson (Canada) and I embarked on the long, soggy, and yet stunningly beautiful walk into the Wind River Range with the idea of repeating the line Hook, Line, and Sinker (1,800’, V 5.12) on Mt. Hooker (12,504’). This route was freed by Whit Magro and Josh Wharton (see AAJ 2015), and our late good friend Hayden Kennedy had recommended it.

We arrived at the base after a fairly rough start the day before, involving a storm, some marmot thievery, and bug nets. We worked out where the route apparently started, yet it looked very improbable. After a sketchy quest into no man’s land, we realized the starting pitch had fallen down.

Without any topos for alternative routes, we discussed the idea of putting up a new line. The most obvious and easy grab with the single day we had left was a line on Hooker’s northwest face that we eventually named Hooters (500m, III 5.9). This natural line is attractive in some ways yet also a little loose, mossy, and generally sloppy around the edges. Our favorite pitch, the crux, was a chossy, wet, intimidating 5.9 flare—the kind of pitch that is much better in retrospect.

The route is certainly not as clean or majestic as its brothers and sisters on the finer northeast face, but it is a nice addition to the peak since it allows access to the summit at a much lower free grade. All in all, a fine outing with a great partner.

– Hazel Findlay, U.K.



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