Baby Glacier (Wyoming)

Baby Glacier
Baby Glacier
Type	Mountain glacier
Location	Sublette County, Wyoming, USA
Coordinates	43°10′16″N 109°41′01″W[1]
Area	50 acres (20 ha)
Length	.40 mi (0.64 km)
Width	.20 mi (0.32 km)
Terminus	Talus
Status	Unknown

Baby Glacier is in the Bridger Wilderness of Bridger-Teton National Forest, in the U.S. state of Wyoming.^[2] The glacier is immediately west of the much larger Mammoth Glacier, both of which are on the west side of the Continental Divide in the northern Wind River Range. The glacier occupies a north facing cirque and flows northward from the slopes of Mount Whitecap. Baby Glacier is in the Bridger Wilderness and is part of the largest grouping of glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains.

Hazards

Main articles: Hazards of outdoor recreation and Mountaineering § Hazards

Encountering bears is a concern in the Wind River Range.^[3] There are other concerns as well, including bugs, wildfires, adverse snow conditions and nighttime cold temperatures.^[4]

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, over the years, including 1993,^[5] 2007 (involving an experienced NOLS leader),^[6] 2015^[7] and 2018.^[8] Other incidents include a seriously injured backpacker being airlifted near SquareTop Mountain^[9] in 2005,^[10] and a fatal hiker incident (from an apparent accidental fall) in 2006 that involved state search and rescue.^[11] The U.S. Forest Service does not offer updated aggregated records on the official number of fatalities in the Wind River Range.

References

1. "Baby Glacier". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
2. Gannett Peak, WY (Map). TopoQwest (United States Geological Survey Maps). Retrieved August 25, 2012.
3. Staff (April 24, 2017). "Bear Safety in Wyoming's Wind River Country". WindRiver.org. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
4. Ballou, Dawn (July 27, 2005). "Wind River Range condition update - Fires, trails, bears, Continental Divide". PineDaleOnline News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
5. Staff (1993). "Falling Rock, Loose Rock, Failure to Test Holds, Wyoming, Wind River Range, Seneca Lake". American Alpine Club. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
6. MacDonald, Dougald (August 14, 2007). "Trundled Rock Kills NOLS Leader". Climbing. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
7. Staff (December 9, 2015). "Officials rule Wind River Range climbing deaths accidental". Casper Star-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
8. Dayton, Kelsey (August 24, 2018). "Deadly underestimation". WyoFile News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
9. Funk, Jason (2009). "Squaretop Mountain Rock Climbing". Mountain Project. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
10. Staff (July 22, 2005). "Injured man rescued from Square Top Mtn - Tip-Top Search & Rescue helps 2 injured on the mountain". PineDaleOnline News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
11. Staff (September 1, 2006). "Incident Reports - September, 2006 - Wind River Search". WildernessDoc.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2022.

See also

• List of glaciers in the United States