Hi all,
I am hoping to meet up some friends for climbing in the Wind rivers.
I can either fly into Pinedale or Lander and then try to get to the trailhead from the west or the east. I will be coming from the west.
Are both airports secure enough to leave an aircraft unattended for a week?
Any other local knowledge to consider?

I can only speak to Pinedale, Wyoming. Last year while I was flying back from Tennessee to Montana, I spent two days in Pinedale due to a late season snow storm that I was not able to penetrate. I stayed at a reasonable hotel, used the airport courtesy car and moved my C-182 into the hangar and plugged it in. Now all of this was provided for a reasonable fee, it was still a great FBO and very nice and secure airport. I would highly recommend it. As always, check density altitude at Pinedale. Have Fun- Dave

Both are fenced with locked gates. I've left my plane at both without worrying. PNA is attended weekdays and gets more traffic, but mostly the jet set crowd who won't even notice a GA plane. LND is more random in terms of both traffic and someone being there (although LND has a good loaner car, I'm not sure PNA does anymore). Bigger climbing scene in Lander, but generally better access to the Winds from Pinedale. I'm an hour from both. PM me when you're coming. You climbing the Cirque?

Thanks for the beta.
Yes, I'll be going into the Cirque of the Towers. Planning on hiking from the big sandy trailhead over jackass pass to meet up at a camp on lonesome lake. Then we're going to climb as much as we can.
I've heard of hiking in from the east side, but it requires permits to cross the Indian reservation.
A friend is supposed to come out and meet me at the airport (Pinedale it is), but if anyone knows of a shuttle service, or how easy it is to hitchhike to the big
sandy trailhead, let me know.

For the best beta, I'd call Wild Iris in Lander (www.wildirisclimbing.com) and/or the Great Outdoor Shop in Pinedale ((307) 367-2440). In addition to great climbing info, they might be able to hook you up with an informal shuttle of some sort.

The Big Sandy trailhead is at the end of 40 miles of dirt road from Pinedale, so it might be tough to count on hitching a ride there unless you've laid some plans in advance. However, it's a very commonly used trailhead/campground, so once you get 20 miles or so out in that direction, there's probably a decent chance someone would give you a lift because most everything funnels to Big Sandy from that point on.

Wish I was going to be around when you're here. I'd be happy to fly you over the Cirque, and maybe even let you out somewhere near the trailhead!

RanchPilot wrote:...and maybe even let you out somewhere near the trailhead!

I had to stifle a giggle here. My first thought was a flash of the door opening in flight, a kick, and, "AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHhhhhhhhh......"

Actually google earth does show a possibly suitable road near the trailhead that one might be able to land on. However, not sure I'd want to leave an airplane there unattended. Then this not being Alaska might very well not be legal anyways.

Thanks again for the beta on Pinedale.
Great little town, although for a place of less than 2,000 people, it sure has a lot of corporate jet traffic. Seems like Haliburton has been putting lots of natural gas rigs up there.
The flight from Washington state to Pinedale was fairly uneventful, with 20+ knot tailwind above 10k', I was able to do it in 3.5 hours.
There were some rain squalls to the south of Pinedale and the Winds were obscured but I was able to land in Pinedale in 0 winds, which I guess is fairly unusual.
The Wind River Range is probably the most beautiful place I've been to in the Lower 48 states. It's what you envision when thinking of Shangri La:


A friend picked me up in Pinedale, while another buddy brought all the gear via a couple of rental llamas:

We were the envy of all the other climbers there who hiked in with 80+ pounds bags, or even did multiple trip to the cirque.
But hey, we're old, and we've been there and done that..
The climbing was fantastic with great rock and big, exposed ridges - definitely fun adventure climbing:





The weather was great, until the last day when thunderstorms were chasing us down the mountains. And the flight back to Washington was an adventure in itself, trying to find my way across mountain passes, through rain and low ceiling till finally emerging into sunny, but smoky skies in Idaho:
The pass to Alpine was closed:





Thanks again for all the beta - it was a great trip.
Nothing like combining the love of climbing and flying!

Amazing looking Granite. Looks like a Yosemite rack would work up there.

Great trip report, AK. Would love to see any more pictures you want to post.

The Winds take my breath away every time I'm up there, and I feel lucky to call them my backyard. It's hard to explain to people how much rock is really up there until they've been immersed in it for themselves.

Wish I had been in town while you were here--I would have flown up and dropped you a care package (although it sounds like you didn't need it with your pack string of llamas!).

Very cool Trip AKClimber! Thanks for sharing!

Very cool trip! I spent some time over the Winds last summer and was amazed. I couldn't believe that much water actually existed in Wyoming. I had dreams of all the sweet kayaking routes that might be possible in all that cascading water. I envy your adventure.