Wind River Range - Human History

Human History

Before American explorers arrived in the area, Native American tribes such as the Shoshones and Absorkas lived in the region as early as the 1500's and before this there is evidence that early Native American's inhabited the range between 7000 and 9000 years ago. One of the men from the Lewis and Clark expedition, John Colter, is thought to be the first white person to view the range when he visited the area around 1807, though little is known about his travels through the area. In 1812, a party led by Wilson Price Hunt were the first to cross South Pass, at the southern end of the range, the pass which marked the continental divide and crest of the Rocky Mountains became an important portion of the Oregon Trail.

Climbing was pursued in the mid to late 1800's by men such as John C. Fremont, this was typically for the purpose of surveying the region. The first climbers to come purely for recreation began arriving in the 1920's. Gannett Peak, the range and Wyoming's tallest, was first climbed by Arthur Tate and Floyd Stahlnaker in 1922. Most of the early climbing in the region focused around the Titcomb Basin, slowly radiating outwards. Today, the Titcomb Basin remains one of the area's busiest recreation attractions along with the Cirque of the Towers to the south.