A stuck rope during a descent in Wyoming’s Wind River Range left two climbers facing a chilly overnight wait before high-angle rescue teams could reach them.
With only a few hours to spare before sunset, the rescue had to wait until the next morning to head in (Photo: Courtesy of Tip Top Search and Rescue)
Published September 4, 2026 03:29PM
Two stranded climbers had to spend the night on Pingora Peak, a nearly 12,000-foot granite mountain in the Wind River Range of Wyoming, before being rescued by lifesaving crews.
On August 20, the duo tried to bail on a climbing route when their rope got stuck while rappelling, leaving them unable to descend. It was around 5 P.M. when they hit their SOS button from a ledge, according to responding agency Tip Top Search and Rescue.
With only a few hours to spare before sunset, the rescue had to wait until the next morning. Around 7 A.M., a search-and-rescue group set in to rescue the two climbers. Two Lander Search and Rescue (LSAR) high-angle rescue teams, a specialized emergency response unit trained to reach and recover people from steep faces, also took part.
“Multiple attempts were made to deliver long-line supplies to the two stranded climbers, but due to the wind and the clearance of the rotor blades, it was aborted,” Tip Top SAR said in a statement. “The two LSAR climbers were deployed. Once LSAR reached the two climbers, they lowered both to the base of Pingora.”
One of the climbers was wearing a bright orange jacket, which helped the team spot the duo on their first pass into the Cirque, Tip Top wrote.
“Despite spending a chilly night on the side of Pingora, the rescued climbers reported that they were okay, just thirsty and tired,” responders wrote. “Both were uninjured and declined transport. The rescued climbers continued their trip and hiked out.”
Pingora Peak is a famed summit that forms the Cirque of the Towers, a granite amphitheater of jagged peaks in the southern part of the Winds. It’s unclear what route the two were on, but Pingora Peak is considered to be a “low-hanging fruit of accessible alpine climbing in the Wind River Range,” Colorado climber Adam McClatchie told Outside. Pingora Peak is included in the 50 Classic Climbs of North America, a list of coveted climbs made famous in the 1979 climbing guidebook by Yosemite climbing pioneers Steve Roper and Allen Steck.
Although McClatchie considers Pingora Peak a bucket-list climb and a beginner route, its remote location makes it deceptively difficult. For starters, would-be climbers need to hike about ten miles to reach its base, which requires a certain level of alpine fitness. The routes can also be hard to spot, so climbers need a trained eye, and its steep terrain requires technical skills and proper rope management.
McClatchie, 34, has been climbing for over a decade and has climbed routes on Pingora Peak on three occasions between 2020 and 2022. He says that it’s not uncommon for people to get in sticky situations and need rescue.
“I have witnessed parties on Pingora very late at night that were very clearly struggling to get down,” McClatchie said. “I don’t think I witnessed a rescue per se, but I’ve seen headlamps on the wall in the wee hours of the night in rainstorms.”
“That’s the nature of alpine climbing,” McClatchie added. “Things can turn really quickly.”
