Mount Bonneville () is located in the
Wind River Range
The Wind River Range (or "Winds" for short) is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. The range runs roughly NW–SE for approximately . The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and incl ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...
.
The summit is located in the
Bridger Wilderness
The Bridger Wilderness is located in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, United States. Originally established in 1931 as a primitive area, region was redesignated as a wilderness in 1964 and expanded to the current size in 1984. The wilder ...
of
Bridger-Teton National Forest, immediately west of the
Continental Divide. Mount Bonneville is a distinctively iconic peak of the Wind River Range, and was named after explorer
Benjamin Bonneville.
Hazards
Encountering
bears is a concern in the Wind River Range.
There are other concerns as well, including
bugs,
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
s,
adverse snow conditions and
nighttime cold temperatures.
Importantly, there have been notable incidents, including
accidental death
An accidental death is an unnatural death that is caused by an accident, such as a slip and fall, traffic collision, or accidental poisoning. Accidental deaths are distinguished from death by natural causes, disease, and from intentional hom ...
s, due to
falls from steep cliffs (a
misstep could be fatal in this
class 4/5 terrain) and due to
falling rocks, over the years, including 1993,
2007 (involving an experienced
NOLS leader),
2015
and 2018.
Other incidents include a seriously injured backpacker being airlifted near
SquareTop Mountain in 2005,
and a fatal hiker incident (from an apparent
accidental fall
Falling is the action of a person or animal losing stability and ending up in a lower position, often on the ground. It is the second-leading cause of accidental death worldwide and a major cause of personal injury, especially for the old age, ...
) in 2006 that involved state
search and rescue.
The
U.S. Forest Service does not offer updated aggregated records on the official number of fatalities in the Wind River Range.
References
External links
General Information on the Wind River RangeClimbing the Wind River Rangemore
Shoshone National Forest Federal website
Continental Divide Trail information
Bridger–Teton National Forest
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Green River (Colorado River tributary)
Landforms of Fremont County, Wyoming
Mountain ranges of Wyoming
Mountains of Fremont County, Wyoming
Mountains of Wyoming
Ranges of the Rocky Mountains
Shoshone National Forest
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