Downs Mountain
Elevation: 13,356 ft.
Prominence: 1,578 ft.
Isolation: 6.6 miles
Technical Difficulty: Class 2


Downs Mountain Guidebook
Introduction
Downs Mountain is the northernmost 13,000-foot peak on the U.S. Continental Divide, the northern terminus of the highest part of the Wind River Range crest, and a beloved target of Wyoming wilderness wanderers. It is also the highest point of the Torrey Creek drainage, the author’s home valley, and the author’s favorite Wyoming 13er. The peak was likely named after John Downs, who was a Lander-based cattle rancher and explored this region according to the Bonneys.
General Considerations
Downs Mountain is one of the least-remote Wind River 13ers, but reaching its summit still requires more than 12 miles of hiking one-way from the Trail Lake Trailhead, with well over 6,000 vertical feet of elevation gain. However, compared to the >25-mile approaches to the most remote Wyoming 13ers in the heart of the Dinwoody-Titcomb region, Downs Mountain is relatively approachable and has been climbed as a day-hike.
Most climbers will want to undertake a multi-day ascent though, and Downs Mountain combines well with the other 13ers in the northern Wind River Range. The author has fond memories of two solo traverses: one from Downs to Flagstone, descending Pixley Creek and meeting a car shuttle at the Green River Lakes, and a second traverse of all the Divide 13ers from Koven to Downs in a single day, with a prior approach along the Glacier Trail. The options for devising your own adventure are infinite.
Route 1: East Ramp – Class 2+
Approach A: Glacier Trail
The east ramp route on Downs Mountain starts from the western edge of Goat Flat. The most direct way to get here is to hike the Glacier Trail from the Trail Lake Trailhead, leaving the trail at Arrow Pass (10,895 ft.) and traversing southwest across endless frost-shattered rock on the Goat Flat plateau (the summit of Goat Flat is actually a ranked 12er and has a register). There is no shelter between treeline on the Glacier Trail and the summit of Downs Mountain, a distance of more than 7 miles; beware rapidly emerging thunderstorms, which can appear from behind the Divide with little warning.
Approach B: Torrey Creek or Downs Fork
Alternatively, you can climb the north side of No Mans Pass from Lake 11309 in the Torrey Creek Valley or the south side of No Mans Pass from Downs Lake. There are also easier (but less-direct) routes onto Goat Flat from both of these valleys: from Bomber Lake in East Torrey Valley, a talus gulley leads southeast onto Goat Flat, and from a small unnamed valley just east of Downs Lake, a grassy slope leads northward onto Goat Flat.
Final Ascent, All Approaches
From the western side of Goat Flat, hike west across the top of No Mans Pass, which forms a land-bridge leading to Downs Mountain. There is often a small snowmelt pond just west of No Mans Pass at the base of Downs’s east slopes, a rare water source on the high, desolate plateau; some parties have made a high camp here.
The ascent route climbs west up the broad east face to the summit. A large snow patch usually lingers on Downs Mountain’s east face late into the summer, but it is usually possible to bypass most of the snow via talus on the climber’s right. The ascent from this side is steeper and more likely to include snow than the other routes, earning this route its class 2+ rating.
Route 2: North Slopes – Class 2
North of Downs Mountain, the Continental Divide becomes an even-broader plateau and drops gradually northward to Shale Mountain, at which point the Divide suddenly diverges westward towards Three Waters Mountain, leaving the Wind River crest. From anywhere in this great northern expanse, find your way to the Continental Glacier, a cool piece of ice that is sadly rapidly melting.
Work your way north along or near the glacier (note that despite its mellow appearance, the author has encountered crevasses), passing Downs Mountain’s northern subpeak Gjetetind (Point 13202) on climber’s left. The final ascent over moderate talus poses no more obstacle than the terrain in the rest of this area.
Route 3: South Ridge – Class 2
This route is particularly useful for climbers who wish to connect Downs Mountain with Boardman Peak and points farther south. From the Divide plateau north of Boardman Peak, a blocky talus ridge leads to Downs over a series of small false summits, but traversing on the west side of the ridgeline affords slightly easier travel. As the western slopes steepen, you may find it advantageous to cross the ridge crest, heading due north up the final 400 feet to the top of Downs Mountain.
Downs Mountain Map
Downs Mountain Panorama
Downs Mountain Photos
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- Downs Mountain’s massive north aspect and the Continental Glacier as seen from the head of the Mile Long Lake valley (2015)
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- Downs Mountain (summit on right) with the smoke plume from the Lava Mountain Fire, as seen with a telephoto lens from Blaurock Pass (2016)
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- Telephoto view of Gannett Peak, the Grasshopper Glacier, and other Wyoming 13ers from the top of Downs Mountain (2016)
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- The head of the Continental Glacier lies at a unique point on the Continental Divide, where the rivers change direction (2016)
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- The Continental Glacier, a massive but rapidly melting body of ice on Downs Mountain’s northern flanks (2016)
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- The Continental Glacier spills down the north slopes of Downs Mountain, seen here from the summit of Shale Mountain (2016)
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- Ross Lake in the west fork of Torrey Creek, with Downs Mountain’s many cirques rising on the left side, with Goat Flat on the distant horizon (2016)
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- The northern end of the Wind Rivers, with Downs on the left side, as seen from the summit of Whiskey Mountain (2016)
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- Filtering water before beginning the final ascent of Downs’s east ramp route in snowy June conditions (2019)
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- This part of the Continental Glacier spills down the other (western) side of the Continental Divide (2020)
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- Summit of Downs Mountain, my 8th Wyoming thirteener of the day, looking north in the early evening (2020)
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- A threatening thunderstorm approaches as I race as fast as possible across the vast expanse of Goat Flat (2020)
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- In the midst of a terrifying lightning and hail storm with nowhere to hide on the flat top of Goat Flat (2020)
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- The storm lifts briefly as I approach Arrow Pass on the Glacier Trail, nearly to safety in the forest (2020)
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- Downs Mountain sits at the end of the giant ridge extending from Gannett (far left edge of photo) northward along the Continental Divide, seen here from Mount Febbas (2020)
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- Dawn breaks as I ascend the east slopes of Downs. The mountain was almost completely dry this late in the year, but a bit of water still trickled down from melting ice patches.
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- I reached the summit of Downs Mountain a bit before 8 a.m., checking off the first 13er of my FKT attempt. One down, 35 to go!
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- I spent a little time enjoying the morning summit views and made a phone call home to break up the pervasive silence.
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