Flagstone Peak

Elevation: 13,445 ft.

Prominence: 826 ft.

Isolation: 0.8 miles

Technical Difficulty: Class 2

Flagstone Peak Guidebook

Introduction

There are no flagstones on the Wind River crest, but the slab-like chunks of granite at Flagstone Peak’s summit likely give this peak its name, all geology aside. Flagstone is a wonderful hikers’ peak, offering dramatic vistas from a remote summit while not requiring any climbing skills on the standard route. The west, south, and east aspects are quite steep, but a gentle slope offers passage from the north. The summit rears up and narrows to a distinctive pointed edge, and from this vantage, you may feel like you’re riding the bow of a giant ship breaking through the choppy sea of peaks which spreads out across the heart of the northern Winds.

General Considerations

Flagstone is usually climbed in combination with Pedestal Peak, the only soft-ranked 13er in Wyoming. A traverse between these two peaks is a natural way to explore this corner of the range. Many hikers combine Flagstone and Pedestal with other 13ers on the northern Divide, and the author is particularly fond of traversing from Downs Mountain to Flagstone or vice versa.

However, Flagstone Peak can also be approached from drainages connecting to either side of the Wind River crest. From Dinwoody Creek and the Glacier Trail, a hiking route can be found which connects the rugged Gannett Creek valley with the gentles slopes at the head of the Grasshopper Glacier via a broad saddle below Bastion Peak. From the Green River side, Tourist Creek is the most direct way of approaching Flagstone; a pass at the head of the Tourist Creek valley connects with the Divide near the beginning of the Pedestal-Flagstone traverse route.

Route 1: North Ridge – Class 2

This is the standard way to climb Flagstone as part of the Flagstone-Pedestal traverse. First, climb Pedestal and descend to the Pedestal-Flagstone saddle (see Pedestal Peak routes 1 and 2). Note that skipping the summit block of Pedestal allows you to avoid any class 3 terrain. From the saddle, the route is obvious, and a few hundred feet of hiking over small talus blocks leads directly to the summit.

Route 2: East Bowl – Class 2, Moderate Snow

For those who wish to connect Flagstone with peaks to the south, this route provides a useful shortcut to avoid the out-and-back along the Pedestal-Flagstone ridge. A direct route up Flagstone’s southeast flank is blocked by cliffs at the top. However, the slope mellows along the ridge going north.

To climb this route, start at the high, flat valley between Grasshopper Peak and the Grasshopper Glacier. A persistent snowfield sits below Flagstone’s east ridge; climb it in a right-angling traverse to meet the ridge a little above the Flagstone-Pedestal saddle. From here, continue up the north ridge route. The snowfield becomes quite icy by late summer.

Flagstone Peak Map

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North Ridge Route
East Bowl Route

Flagstone Peak Panorama

Flagstone Peak Photos

From the summit of Downs Mountain, Flagstone is mostly hidden by Pedestal near the center of the photo; conditions were rather snowier than expected on this late June trip (2019)

Flagstone Peak as seen from Pedestal Peak (2019)

Panorama of Flagstone and the surrounding peaks from Pedestal (2019)

The last of the winter snow decorates Flagstone Peak’s north slopes, seen here from near the saddle with Pedestal (2019)

Looking south to Gannett and company from the Pedestal-Flagstone saddle on my first trip to this area (2019)

Nearing the summit of Flagstone Peak, the terminus of my first solo Divide traverse of the northern Wind Rivers (2019)

Summit area of Flagstone Peak, looking north (2019)

The view back to Downs Mountain (distant), Klondike (left, below horizon), and Pedestal (right, near) from Flagstone (2019)

The summit view from Flagstone is magnificent, especially with some extra snow (2019)

Peering into Tourist Creek with its still-frozen lakes from the saddle between Pedestal and Flagstone (2019)

Flagstone Peak’s south face rears up above the Divide plateau with Pedestal to its right, as seen from the summit of U.N. Point 13180 (2020)

Climbing snow on Flagstone’s east bowl route (2020)

The snow was already sloppy by mid-morning on the south bowl route (2020)

Ascending easier terrain on Flagstone’s upper north ridge (2020)

Summit view from Flagstone Peak, looking back at U.N. Point 13180 (very low, close) and Bastion Peak (central massif); I climbed both of these peaks plus Koven this morning before continuing to Flagstone and ultimately traversing all the way out over Downs Mountain (2020)

Looking north from Flagstone at the remaining portion of my Continental Divide traverse: Pedestal Peak, Klondike Peak, U.N. Point 13062, and Downs Mountain (2020)

The Green River Valley is far below in that distant canyon which separates the New Fork Plateau from the bulk of the northern Wind River Range (2020)

Looking back at the summit of Flagstone Peak; it is mellow on the north side but drops precipitously to the south (2020)

Flagstone Peak with much less snow than it had when I climbed it 363 days earlier, as seen while ascending Pedestal Peak (2020)

Flagstone Peak (big, left) and U.N. Point 13180 (small, right) as seen from Desolation Peak to the west (2020)

Flagstone’s western profile forms a dramatic triangular pyramid on the Continental Divide above Lake 11478 in the headwaters of the Tourist Creek drainage; Bastion Peak is visible on the right edge of the photo, with the diminutive U.N. Point 13180 between Bastion and Flagstone (2020)

Tourist Creek is a beautiful stream which flows down from the base of Flagstone Peak (2020)

Looking up Tourist Creek towards the Flagstone Peak environs (2020)

Looking down the lower part of Tourist Creek to the Green River, a route which can be used to access Flagstone Peak (2020)

Looking towards Flagstone (close, right) and Bastion (distant, left) from the summit of Pedestal.

This meltwater pond at the Pedestal-Flagstone col was the best source of drinking water I could find. It was a bit stale, but I was just about out of water, and there is very little water up this high in the late summer.

From the top of Flagstone, I peer down into the steep cirque at the head of Tourist Creek. I’m hoping to traverse across the left side of this bowl to get to Desolation Peak later this afternoon.

Lake 11,478, sometimes called Lake Solitude, glistens like a turquoise gem far below.

I break out my crampons for the first time this trip to descend the icy snowfield below the Flagstone-Pedestal col.

A short class 3/4 scramble leads to the summit of the other officially unnamed 13er in this region. I’ve proposed the name Grasshopper Peak due to the peak’s proximity to the Grasshopper Glacier. This view looks back to Flagstone (left) and Pedestal (right).

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