| Mount Hooker | |
|---|---|
 The steep north face of Mount Hooker rises beyond Grave Lake | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 12,509 ft (3,813 m)[1] |
| Prominence | 704 ft (215 m)[1] |
| Coordinates | 42°51′09″N109°18′15″W / 42.85250°N 109.30417°W /42.85250; -109.30417[2] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Hooker Location in Wyoming Show map of Wyoming Mount Hooker Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Sublette andFremont County, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Parent range | Wind River Range |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Bonneville |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | class 5.0 toclass 5.14a |
Mount Hooker (12,509 feet (3,813 m)) is located in theWind River Range in theU.S. state ofWyoming.[3] Mount Hooker was named forJoseph Dalton Hooker, the prominent 19th-century British botanist and explorer.[2] The north and east slopes of Mount Hooker present some of the tallest and steepest vertical cliffs in Wyoming, and the peak is also remote, being more than 20 mi (32 km) from a road. The formidable 1,800-foot (550 m) north face of Mount Hooker was first climbed in 1964 byYosemite Valley climberRoyal Robbins, along with Dick McCracken and Charlie Raymond, who took over three days to scale the cliff face.[4] In 2013, a teamfree climbed one pitch rated atclass 5.14a, grade VI during a multiple-day ascent requiring five other pitches rated above 5.12.[5]
Encounteringbears is a concern in the Wind River Range.[6] There are other concerns as well, includingbugs,wildfires,adverse snow conditions andnighttime cold temperatures.[7]
Importantly, there have been notable incidents, includingaccidental deaths, due tofalls from steep cliffs (amisstep could be fatal in thisclass 4/5 terrain) and due tofalling rocks, over the years, including 1993,[8] 2007 (involving an experiencedNOLS leader),[9] 2015[10] and 2018.[11] Other incidents include a seriously injured backpacker being airlifted nearSquareTop Mountain[12] in 2005,[13] and a fatal hiker incident (from an apparentaccidental fall) in 2006 that involved statesearch and rescue.[14] TheU.S. Forest Service does not offer updated aggregated records on the official number of fatalities in the Wind River Range.