Valentine Mountain is a mountain located in the southern
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 inclu ...
in the
U.S. state of
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, 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 south ...
.
Valentine Mountain is northwest of
Valentine Peak. Valentine Mountain is in the
Popo Agie Wilderness
Popo Agie Wilderness Locally "po-PO-zha" according to Don Pitcher, 2006, ''Moon Handbooks Wyoming,'' p. 26/ref>More ambiguous transcription of "po-po-zsha" at is located within Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, United States. The wilderness consi ...
of
Shoshone National Forest.
Hazards
Encountering
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
s is a concern in the Wind River Range.
There are other concerns as well, including
bugs
Bugs may refer to:
* Plural of bug
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters
* Bugs Bunny, a character
* Bugs Meany, a character in the ''Encyclopedia Brown'' books
Films
* ''Bugs'' (2003 film), a science-fiction-horror film
* ''Bugs ...
,
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
s,
adverse snow conditions and
nighttime cold temperatures.
Importantly, there have been notable incidents, including
accidental deaths, due to
falls from steep cliffs (a
misstep could be fatal in this
class 4/5 terrain) and due to
falling rocks
Falling or fallin' may refer to:
*Falling (physics), movement due to gravity
*Falling (accident)
*Falling (execution)
*Falling (sensation)
People
*Christine Falling (born 1963), American serial killer who murdered six children
Books
* ''Falli ...
, 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
Squaretop Mountain is an mountain summit located in Sublette County of Wyoming, United States.
Geography
The peak is the emblematic geographical feature of the remote Wind River Range and is set seven miles west of the Continental Divide. I ...
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
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
.
The
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
does not offer updated aggregated records on the official number of fatalities in the Wind River Range.
References
Mountains of Wyoming
Mountains of Fremont County, Wyoming
Shoshone National Forest
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