Lander Wyoming: How I love thee, let me count the ways...

When I think of  major North American all-around climbing destinations there are a few big names that come to mind: Yosemite, Bishop, Boulder and Squamish. Well folks, recent events have led me to add another name to this list: Lander, Wyoming. Yep, I said it: Lander Wyoming should be added to the list of major climbing destinations in North America. Here's why:

Background:

Todd Skinner's 'Throwin' the Houlihan', one of
the best looking lines I've ever seen. 

Lander was originally brought to my attention some years ago by the first episode of the ever classic Master's of Stone series. This video features the late, great Todd Skinner climbing his masterpiece Throwin' the Houlihan (5.14a) at the sport-climbing area of Wild Iris located just outside of Lander. Considered to be the first or second 5.14a put up by an American (depending on who you talk to), Todd describes the style of climbing as being "short and savage" and at the limits of what your tendons can take. Naturally, after hearing this description, I was immediately sold and have wanted to visit Wild Iris ever since. Now fast forward to last Aug and it just so happened that our move up to Alberta, Canada gave Caroline and I the perfect excuse to stop by the Wild Iris to check out the scene and test our tendons on some short, steep sport climbing.

Arrival in Lander:

After finishing work, giving my van a major makeover, and saying good-bye to friends and family, we cast off and drove straight to Lander where we'd climb for about a week. First stop was Wild Iris Mountain Sports for some local beta and a guide book. This is when our trip became more complicated. Essentially I came to Lander with the sole intention of climbing at Wild Iris, but after entering the Sports shop and talking to some of the locals it hit me: "Holy shit, there's a lot of climbing here". And not just sport-climbing either. 

Turns out Lander has world class options for every type of climbing you could ever want (probably even aid climbing) all in a relatively close proximity to the town. Whether it's traditional alpine climbing, new-school hard bouldering or classic limestone sport climbing, Lander does it all and does it well. You can imagine my dismay when I heard this. All of a sudden a week long trip seemed pitifully short and I was tempted to just keep on driving and pretend like I'd never heard of the place for fear of being tempted to never leave (which was very tempting). Well in spite of my better judgement we decided to stay for the week and check out what the area had to offer.

Off to Wild Iris:

The Wild Iris

While the other options were more than tempting, we decided to stick to our guns and focus our attention on the Wild Iris. This place is truly a gem of a sport-climbing area. Much more than simply the climbing, the whole ambiance of the place is really what makes it so great. 

Located a couple miles down a dirt road in a pleasant aspen forest around 9000 ft in the middle of nowhere, the atmosphere is peaceful and relaxing. Lately the area has seemed all but to have fallen off the map, leading to very few people being around and a good amount of them being locals you'll meet working in the shops of Lander. Even on the weekends we found that if you simply hiked a little further than the most popular areas, you were almost guaranteed to have the crag to yourself (although the other crags were never too crowded). To top it off throw in really nice free camping within walking distance of all the crags and you've got yourself a great spot for some Summer sport-climbing.

The Climbing:

Scoping my project, Amy Skinner's 'When I
was a young girl I had me a cowbow', just next
door to 'Throwin' the Houlihan'

Todd's description of the climbing at Wild Iris really just about sums it up. Most of the routes were short, and even the easier routes were pretty savage. Maybe this style of climbing isn't for everyone but I certainly enjoyed myself (you'll have to ask Caroline for her opinion which might be a little different than mine, although I know she still had a good time, you see I'm biased because I'm a boulderer). 

Looking for the true Wild Iris experience, I set my sights on 'When I was a young girl I had me a cowboy' (5.13a), an Amy Skinner route that the locals informed me lives up to the Wild Iris name. With 5 bolts, 45 ft of climbing, and maybe 2 easy moves total, the route certainly packs a punch. While I left without the send (but was painfully close) I certainly enjoyed every moment on this one and can't wait to go back for it.

Projects aside, the rest of the climbing we did at the Iris was simply delightful. Technical pocket pulling at it's finest, it really did remind me of the world class cliffs of Buoux, France. Superb rock quality, intricate footwork and difficult to decipher sequences are the name of the game. Perhaps frustrating at first, these are climbs that will teach you something about the subtleties and importance of good footwork and body position. Highlights included 'Wind and Rattlesnakes', 'Easy Ridin', 'Wotai', 'Medicine Man' and the list goes on.

Riding out the day's thunderstorm by getting some work
done in the office, not too bad.

Conditions were overall very good even in the middle of August, albeit with a lot of fluctuation. Despite there being almost daily thunderstorms, the weather would roll through pretty quick and you could be back climbing thirty minutes later (this even added to the wild feeling of the place). If it was cold and you wanted to climb in the sun, you could climb in the sun. If it was hot and you wanted to climb in the shade, you could find shade (although the shady crags were a little skewed to the more difficult grades).

Finally, if Wild Iris really isn't your style, you've got Sink's Canyon not too far away with taller cliffs and a bit more variety. 

Back to Lander:

In addition to the great climbing Lander has to offer, the town itself is one of the most climber friendly I've ever visited, think Bishop but with more flavor and less boulderers (not that there's anything wrong with boulderers). With a good brewery, an awesome bar, and good coffee, you have all the essentials for any climbing town. Throw in some more free camping right in the town and you really have everything you need. 

My favorite thing about Lander was the strong local ethic. In the local bar you can drink local brews while eating a burger made with local beef. Head down to the  local grocery store and pick up some delicious aged local steaks to barbecue up for dinner. On many of the trucks you see bumper stickers telling you to eat local Wyoming beef. Drop in the local coffee shop and pick up some nice local java (oh wait they actually source their beans from Santa Barbara and LA) but anyways you get the point. The best part is that in any other town where you get this much "local" stuff going on, you'd expect it to be run by hipsters. Well I'll tell you what, I didn't see a single hipster the whole time I was there, just a lot of cowboys and I reckon they know what they're doing.

Rest day activities include great trout fishing, some really nice cycling without too many cars, great scenery and hiking in the Wind River Range, and some good old fashioned rodeos and line dancing. Yee Haw!

In conclusion:

Well seems like I could go on forever about how awesome Lander, Wyoming is. To sum it up, you've got awesome climbing of any style you could want, a vibrant and active local climbing community, some of the best local beef you've ever had, so much free camping it's not even funny, and Santa Barbara coffee :). These are some of the reasons I feel Lander should be on the map of any serious climber. Don't take my word for it though, just go check it out for yourself. Let me know if you're going and I'll even fly down to meet you. Happy Climbing!

Enjoying a tasty local brew in one of the coolest climbing
areas on earth.