Mt. Hooker – An Unforgettable Ascent

Published 2017-05-30

by: Inge Perkins

Taking deep breaths from nerves and trying hard, I shoved a small cam under a roof and began climbing over as efficiently as I could. My grip began to weaken as my forearms grew tired, I focused in on what looked like the next feature on the face and popped for it. The next second all four of my limbs were dangling in the air while the cam above was the only thing holding me to the wall; I had just taken my first fall ever on a piece of gear I placed.

Two days before, my boyfriend Hayden and I had hiked to the flanks of Mt. Hooker in the Wind River Range. We had horses carry our food and gear to the base of Haley Pass and spent the rest of the day shuttling everything to our home for the next ten days.

At the top of Haley Pass. Photo by Inge Perkins.

Wyoming and the Wind Rivers were not a new place for me; I had spent the two previous summers in Lander; however, I had never climbed anything in the Winds. Aside from trail running in and drooling over the beautiful mountains to climb, I had spent my time sport climbing on the fantastic, pocketed limestone around Lander. Over those two summers, I had progressed so much as a sport climber and developed confidence and strength I had never anticipated. However, now I was so excited and nervous to climb the biggest wall in Wyoming while endeavoring into a relatively new type of climbing for me.

Our first goal of the trip was to climb the iconic route, The Jaded Lady (5.12), first free climbed by Galen Rowell, Todd Skinner, Paul Piana, and Tim Toula in 1990. Todd and Paul were already idols of mine from the many sport routes they had bolted and climbed around Lander, so we were naturally thrilled to try their classic route on the north face of Mt. Hooker.

Starting up the first pitch of The Jaded Lady in the morning light. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

We had begun the day hoping to free climb the entire route, purely using gear as protection, not as aid, and climbing every pitch without falling. However, three pitches up the route, I had suddenly taken my first lead fall on gear. I was at first disappointed that I had fallen, but then the fact I had taken my first fall, let alone on Mt. Hooker, was so exciting for me. For the first time, I had built enough confidence in my trad climbing that I could focus on the climbing and fully go for it while knowing in the back of my head that it was ok if I fell. This was a huge milestone in my climbing and to gain this experience on the wall and route I had heard about and admired for years was an honor.

Getting high on The Jaded Lady, a little overwhelmed by the beautiful granite, setting, and quality climbing. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

We continued through the wild down-climbing crux pitch, a face consisting of just enough edges and features to climb, including a sideways jump. Hayden cruised through the next crux pitch, and then we grunted up the last few pitches of easier but exhausting climbing.

Working through the complex down-climbing pitch of The Jaded Lady. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

Two thousand feet above the basin, we pulled over the lip of Mt. Hooker to the glowing, grassy, plateau-like summit; a stark contrast to where we had been. Tickled by the feeling of afternoon sunshine on our faces for the first time all day, we enjoyed the extensive view and began walking back to our camp with good food and drink on our minds.

Two days later, after enjoying some quality, restful mountain time; I found myself putting together one of the first face climbing sections of Hook, Line, and Sinker (5.12). Although the Jaded Lady was put up in 1990, it was not until about two years ago that Hooker began to really receive her deserved attention for incredible, hard free climbing. In 2014, Whit Magro and Josh Whorton put up Hook, Line, and Sinker and since then, only a handful of others have climbed the route. Hayden and I had only heard rave reviews from everyone who had done it, and with Josh’s detailed description, not even an upset stomach could stop me from starting up the massive face of Mt. Hooker again. The route was more sustained, bolder in sections, had a down-climbing section even crazier than the Jaded Lady and boasted an excellent pitch of a golden, granite, tufa feature. Footholds, edges, or sloping bulges continued to appear where I needed them on the daunting face sections, as if by magic. Having become more efficient and used to the size of Mt. Hooker, I climbed over the lip less tired but so proud of pushing myself through more discomforts and fears. Hayden and I had successfully free climbed the entire route without falling, a dream come true to on-sight such a beautiful route.

Starting up Hook, Line, and Sinker in the morning glow. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

Back at camp eating ribs, baked beans, and chocolate, we felt so lucky to have been able to climb both the Jaded Lady and Hook, Line, and Sinker at the beginning of our trip. Those two routes had been our primary objectives for the trip, and now we had four more days to explore the beautiful area.

Ribs!!!!! Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

I packed up the detachable lid from the Women’s MYSTERY RANCH Glacier pack with a jacket, food, and water and we scampered around to beautiful basins, scoped new routes, and soloed the fantastic, sharp ridge of Musembeah.

The ridge of Musambeah above Baptiste Lake. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

A diving board off the ridge of Musambeah. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

Our friends Anne and Dana from Lander and Jackson had also shown up with the goal to climb the Jaded Lady, successfully topping out Mt. Hooker the day after they arrived. Thus, our camp turned into a party, consisting of board games, music, and more than enough food and whiskey. It couldn’t get much better than clearing the mind in a magical place and breathing hard, grooving through the mountains, while being surrounded by inspiring, special, fun, and down-to-earth people.

After my experiences falling, route finding, simu-climbing, and pushing through discomforts, I left Wyoming having progressed my climbing once again. I felt an even greater appreciation for the unassuming state and Hayden, and I had already begun making plans for our return to Hooker.

Following the brilliant Green Arête on The Jaded Lady. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

Delicately working through the traverse on pitch 4. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

Pitch 5. The north face of Hooker is such a high quality, sheer, and featured face, I don’t know how it is real. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

Following the scattered path of face holds up pitch 6. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.

Starting up the ridge of Musambeah. Photo by Hayden Kennedy.