Mount Warren
Elevation: 13,743 ft.
Prominence: 1005 ft.
Isolation: 2.0 miles
Technical Difficulty: Class 3+


Mount Warren Guidebook
Introduction
Admired by many and climbed by few, Mount Warren is a mountaineer’s mountain. From the Dinwoody Glacier (and from the summit of Gannett), its symmetric profile looks like a rocket nosecone shooting out of the Earth. Still, this peak might be a good choice for someone looking for the next step up after doing Gannett. From the summit, some of the best alpine terrain in the American Rockies spreads out around your feet. Called Mount Harding after President Warren Harding by the first ascenders, Mount Warren was officially named after Francis Warren, the first state governor of Wyoming (is that enough Warren names to confuse you yet?).
General Considerations
The famous view of Warren is unquestionably from the Dinwoody, but the easiest climbing routes start on the Helen Glacier (see Titcomb section for approach descriptions). As such, this peak is a bit of an outlier in this section of the guidebook, but its prominent location on the spur extending from Horse Ridge to the Divide merits inclusion here. Expert alpinists do sometimes climb it from the Dinwoody side, though such an undertaking is far beyond the scope of this guide. A classic technical traverse is sometimes made from Warren past (or over!) Les Dames Anglaises to Doublet and Dinwoody Peak.
Route 1: Southwest Face – Class 3+, Moderate Snow
This route was not documented until very recently, but it offers a surprisingly easy way to the summit of this imposing peak.
Gain the upper Helen Glacier (crevassed) from the col between Spearhead and Helen (if coming from Titcomb) or by climbing up the glacier itself (if coming from the North Fork of Bull Lake Creek). Ascend the Helen Glacier nearly to the Divide, turning north to enter the bowl-like valley ringed by Spearhead, Doublet (an unranked 13er), and Mount Warren.
Head directly up towards the summit from here, hiking up loose talus or moderate snow in a shallow depression near the center of the face. About halfway up, the terrain steepens a bit, requiring some moderate scrambling over well-featured bedrock. Near the top, the easiest route follows subsidiary gullies to the climber’s right, gaining the summit ridge a few bumps short of the highpoint.
Route 2: South Couloir – Class 4+, Moderate Snow
While considerably harder than Route 1, this route is highly enjoyable in good conditions and offers a superb mountaineering adventure. From about 12,200 ft. on the Helen Glacier, a huge, obvious couloir cuts into the cliffs of Mount Warren. In early summer, the first 800 feet of this couloir is a pleasant snow climb, and later in the season it becomes more difficult with loose scree and some short rock obstacles.
Just above 13,000 ft., turn climber’s right and enter a sizable subsidiary couloir which affords easy progress. The top of the subsidiary couloir culminates with about 30 feet of steeper climbing which constitutes the route’s crux. Some climbers rappel this section on the descent. The route above here follows Warren’s interesting southeast ridge, which involves another few hundred feet of mixed scrambling and talus hiking to reach the summit.
Route 3: East Side – Class 5.2, Moderate Snow
At one point this may have been considered the standard route on Mount Warren, as the first ascent party climbed the peak using some variation of this route. It is still the easiest way to climb Warren from the Dinwoody without losing a thousand feet of elevation by descending to the Helen Glacier.
Reach Elsie Col by climbing snow and scree from the Dinwoody Glacier or Helen Glacier (beware crevasses on both). Begin the climb by ascending loose rubble and slabby terrain on the Dinwoody side of the east ridge. Gain the ridge briefly at a short flat section and consider your options. The ridge rises vertically above here. Some parties have circumvented the cliffs by climbing a steep snow/ice couloir on the north (climber’s right) side, but the easiest route seems to lie to the south.
Traverse left around the steep part of the ridge on exposed ledges above a dramatic chute. Continue on an upward traverse across tenuous slabs (crux) until you can escape into the chute, which is now a narrow rubble gully. Climb a few hundred feet up the gully, surmounting the occasional low-5th-class chockstone, to gain the hanging boulder field on Warren’s upper east face. Hiking up this boulder field deposits you on the summit ridge a hundred feet below the top.
Mount Warren Map
Mount Warren Panorama
Mount Warren Photos
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- The ultra-classic view of Mount Warren (center) and surrounding peaks above the Dinwoody Glacier as seen from the summit of Gannett Peak, 2016
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- Mount Warren’s distinctive profile catches early morning light, as seen from the summit of Mount Koven, 2020
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- The Helen Glacier is a beautiful but rapidly melting body of ice; here, the Twin Brothers (12er) rises above the glacier on the way to Mount Warren, 2020
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- The “pitch on poor rock” as described by the Bonneys is the crux at the top of the subsidiary couloir, 2020
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- From the summit of Mount Warren, looking back to Spearhead Pinnacle which I climbed earlier in the morning, 2020
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- The central Titcomb wall peaks, Jackson, Fremont, Sacagawea, and Helen, as seen from the summit of Warren, 2020
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- Turret Peak (left) and the North Fork of Bull Lake Creek as seen from the summit of Mount Warren, 2020
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- I chose to use a conveniently situated anchor to rappel the crux pitch on Warren’s south couloir route, 2020
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- Looking back to the Warren massif from Helen’s east ridge (left to right: Woodrow Wilson, Gannett (snowcapped), Dinwoody, Doublet, Les Dames Anglaises, Warren, Turret), 2020
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- Pre-dawn light on Warren (center), Turret (left, shadowed), and the Dinwoody/Doublet subpeaks (right edge) as seen while heading up for a climb of Gannett Peak, 2020
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- Mount Warren beckons. Despite my late start, I’m feeling pretty strong and tentatively decide to go for the more ambitious plan.
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- From the upper Helen Glacier, Mount Warren looks too steep to have any easy routes. However, I’m hoping to find the supposed 3rd class route on this sunlit face reported by Eric and Matt.
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- As I head up the face, weaknesses are revealed in the cliffs, and a moderate scrambling route is indeed possible. Most of it is loose talus, but there are a few enjoyable sections of solid rock, like this set of natural rock stairs.
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- The upper face turns into a broad talus bowl, and before long I’m on the summit ridge. Once thought to be class 5 by all routes, Mount Warren is a gentle giant if approached from this side.
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- Doublet looks impressive from this angle too. With LiDAR data, I determined that it has about 270 ft. of prominence. Even though it doesn’t count for the main 13ers list, I’d still like to climb it sometime.
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- Summit view from Mount Warren, looking across the remnants of the Dinwoody Glacier to Gannett and company.
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- The summit rocks of Mount Warren. I made a brief call to my dad to report my plans for the day, then started down.
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- Inset gully: check! This gnarly couloir, almost like a broad chimney, starts at the base of the hanging boulder field on Warren’s eastern shoulder and drops steeply towards the Helen Glacier.
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- The top of the gully requires a low 5th class downclimb. The rock is good and it’s not too exposed, but some care is required.
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- After descending the gully for a bit, it seems to be falling away to the cliffs below, which means it’s time to look for an escape route. Here, I explore a ledge system to my left.
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- Looking back at the slab traverse from the safety of a ledge on the other side. The climbing is only 5.0-5.2, but a slip would send you into the garbage chute a hundred feet below (not visible in this view).
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- This lobe of the Dinwoody Glacier hosts some impressive bergschrunds where it pulls away from the north face of Mount Warren. It’s nice eye candy, but I wouldn’t want to have to climb it!
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- Looking back at Warren. Most of my descent route is not visible from here, but it roughly follows the other side of the left ridge.
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