Schiestler Peak is an mountain summit located in

Sublette County Sublette County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 8,728. The county seat is Pinedale. It is a sparsely populated rural county in western Wyoming, along the Green River. History Su ...

of Wyoming, United States.

Description

The peak is situated in the remote Wind River Range, three miles west of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, and approximately four miles south of the Cirque of the Towers. It is set 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 ...

, on land managed by Bridger-Teton National Forest. Topographic relief is significant as the northeast aspect rises in one-half mile. Nearby geographic features include Haystack Mountain, 1.9 mile to the east, Big Sandy Lake one mile north, and Temple Peak 2.3 miles to the southeast. Access to the mountain is via the Big Sandy Trail.

Molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lea ...

was discovered on the mountain around 1940, and several claims were staked, but little ore was extracted. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from the mountain drains into headwaters of the Big Sandy River, which is a tributary of the

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada *Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

Etymology

The peak's name honors Felix Schiestler (1855–1924), pioneer resident of

Rock Springs, Wyoming Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 23,036 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state of Wyoming, and the most populous city in Sweetwater County. Rock Springs is ...

. He immigrated to the United States from Austria, and after spending ten years in the east, he arrived in Rock Springs in 1886. He engaged in sheep raising, succeeding to such an extent that he was considered one of the leading flockmasters of Sweetwater County at the time of his death.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Schiestler Peak is located in an alpine

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer.

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 ...

, wildfires, 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. A 54-year-old climber from

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

fell 400–800 feet to his death from nearby Steeple Peak in 2017.Nick Learned, ''Climber Falls to His Death in Wyoming’s Wind River Range'', August 31, 2017, k2radio.com
/ref> 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.

Gallery

File:Wind Rivers (8552216310).jpg, Haystack Mountain (left), Temple Peak centered in back, Schiestler Peak (right) File:Schiestler Peak, Wyoming.jpg, North aspect File:Schiestler Peak in Wyoming.jpg, North aspect File:Haystack, East Temple, Temple Peak, Schiestler.jpg, Left to rightː Haystack Mountain, East Temple Peak, Temple Peak, Schiestler Peak

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Schiestler Peak
{{Portal bar, Geography, Geology, Mountains Bridger–Teton National Forest Mountains of Sublette County, Wyoming Mountains of Wyoming North American 3000 m summits