Winter Conditions in Tongue River Canyon

Well, I’m up in the Bighorns, doing some winter climbing and Nordic trail grooming. Today we went to Tongue River!

Some friends and I went climbing today in Tongue River Canyon and despite chilly conditions, the climbing was surprisingly good. No snow on the trail on the hike in. I was nervous when we pulled into the parking lot and the thermometer read 35 f, at around 10:30 a.m., but it turned out to be a pretty fun day.

We climbed at the Shadow Wall , where we got on Stone Cold (10-) and Frigid Digits (10b) to start. They climb the left and right side of a protruding column of very high quality rock. I found both of these to be more enjoyable than I had anticipated and found them to have thoughtful but not awkward cruxes. We then moved around the corner and went up Earth Angel (5.8), a beautiful little trad climb that deserved its high rating.

And despite being pretty chilly during the belays, we rallied for another route and toproped a fun, balancy crack just to the left of Earth Angel, called Tenacious D (10d), which had great movement. By this time there was some guessing as to where our fingers were grabbing the holds or not, since it was hard to feel them. And when the wind started to pick up more, we decided it was time to call it.

When we got back to the car the temps were around 45 f, but it was so overcast and windy it felt much colder. If it had been sunny, it would have been very good climbing conditions. Which is why this canyon is tricky during the summer. It catches sun and stays warm, and nearly all the crags face south.

All said, Tongue River is a great place for winter climbing, especially during a low snow year like this one. I plan on going back very soon.