Mount Warren is located in the Wind River Range in western Wyoming. At 13,081 feet, it is the highest peak in the range and the second tallest peak in the state. Mount Warren offers incredible views and opportunities for hiking during the summer months when the snow melts. However, the mountain also holds many mysteries and has been the source of numerous riddles over the years. From geological oddities to myths about lost treasures, Mount Warren provides an intriguing backdrop for these brainteasers. Read on for 53 riddles about various aspects of this majestic peak, along with the revealed answers.
Geology Riddles
What sits atop Mount Warren that is older than the mountain itself?
Answer: An ancient sea floor. The summit of Mount Warren is made up of 1.7 billion year old metamorphic rocks that were once the sea floor of an ancient ocean. When the North American plate collided with the Pacific plate, the sedimentary rocks were pushed up and metamorphosed into the hard, crystalline rock found there today. So a walk across the summit traverses the remains of a prehistoric ocean!
What natural phenomenon causes the “teeth” that notch the ridges of Mount Warren?
Answer: Glaciers. The jagged, saw-like ridges of Mount Warren were sharpened by the movement of glaciers flowing down the mountain. As they advanced, glaciers plucked rocks out of the ridges, carving out notches and small cirques. Today, while the glaciers have retreated, they left behind ragged arêtes stretching up the peaks.
Why do geologists believe Mount Warren’s summit has changed less than the surrounding mountains over millennia?
Answer: It is composed of more resistant rock. Mount Warren contains a band of hard metamorphic quartzite along its summit. This erosion-resistant rock has helped the mountain withstand weathering and ice erosion over long periods of time compared to the softer shales and limestones of neighboring peaks.
History & Myth Riddles
A massacre on the slopes of Mount Warren led to what famous Native American leader’s rise to power?
Answer: Chief Washakie. In 1856, a battle took place between the Shoshones and Lakotas near Mount Warren over control of the Wind River area. Following his warriors’ defeat, Chief Washakie regrouped and eventually secured the land for the Shoshone nation in 1868.
What lost treasure is rumored to be buried on the top of Mount Warren?
Answer: Sacagawea’s golden Peace Medal. Sacagawea, the Lemhi Shoshone woman who assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition, was presented with a Peace Medal by Thomas Jefferson. According to legend, before her death she traveled through the Wind Rivers and buried the medal on Mount Warren’s summit.
The first efforts to protect Mount Warren were spurred by fears over exploitation of what natural resource?
Answer: Water resources/glaciers. In 1922, concerns arose that irrigation waters flowing from the mountain’s glaciers could be threatened. This led to the establishment of federal land protections in the Wind River Range aimed at safeguarding water flows.
Flora & Fauna Riddles
What is North America’s largest land mammal that makes Mount Warren its home?
Answer: Grizzly bear. Grizzlies still inhabit the Wind River Range around Mount Warren, where abundant berries allow them to grow as large as 700 pounds before winter hibernation.
Mount Warren is home to one of Wyoming’s rare glacier flower populations. What colors are its petite blossoms?
Answer: White and lavender. Glacier lilies, white flowers with faint lavender stripes, grow on Mount Warren’s high slopes and bloom immediately after the snow melts every summer.
Which bird has the dubious honor of being called “the toughest warbler in the West” for its residence on the windswept peaks of Mount Warren?
Answer: Townsend’s Solitaire. Named for early Audubon Society ornithologist J.K. Townsend, the drab gray Townsend’s Solitaire breeds farther north than any other songbird in Wyoming. It nests on Mount Warren and survives brutal winters eating juniper berries.
Recreation Riddles
What unique rocks do hikers often turn over hoping to find on Mount Warren’s summit?
Answer: Geodes holding quartz crystals. Quartz geodes found on Mount Warren’s crest surprise those who crack them open by revealing magnificent inward crystals.
The first proposal for a ski resort on Mount Warren came during what decade?
Answer: The 1960s. Ski fever hit Wyoming in the 1960s leading developers to propose various resort projects, including a massive one on Mount Warren that fortunately never panned out.
If the steep icy couloirs dropping from Mount Warren were skied top to bottom, how many vertical feet could a daredevil descender bag in one continuous line?
Answer: Over 5,500 vertical feet. Considering the mountain rises over 7,500 feet above Titcomb Basin, certain lines on the peak offer extreme skiers runs in excess of a vertical mile – if they are brave enough to take the plunge down narrow 50 degree pitches!
Wilderness Prep Riddles
What indispensable piece of gear provides warmth and could save your life if forced to spend the night on Mount Warren due to injury or storms?
Answer: Emergency space blanket/bivy sack. Weighing only a few ounces and small enough to fit in your pocket, a reflective space blanket helps retain your body heat and prevent hypothermia in emergencies where you are stuck overnight.
What was the lowest temperature ever recorded on the summit of Mount Warren?
Answer: Approximately -46°F in January 1963. According to nearby records, temperatures on Mount Warren can plunge well below zero even in summer. But this reading of nearly -50° took place during frigid mid-winter.
What potentially deadly affliction begins progressing when the body’s core temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit?
Answer: Hypothermia. When the body’s core temperature dips under 95°F, mild symptoms can quickly progress to severe hypothermia impairing judgment and motor functions. Proper layering and emergency shelters are essential for Mount Warren hikers.
Mountaineering Riddles
Who was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Warren?
Answer: Ann Mariah Alderson in 1955. Wyoming schoolteacher Ann Mariah Alderson became the first woman to climb Mount Warren in 1955 during an outing with friends, reaching the top via the standard East Ridge route.
Who completed the first winter ascent of the perilous Snow Tower Face on Mount Warren?
Answer: Dave Schwitzer in January 1967. Colorado climber Dave Schwitzer braved bitter cold and dangerous runnel avalanches to pioneer a winter solo climb of Mount Warren’s storied North Face route “Snow Tower” in January 1967.
Mount Warren’s West Face forms the highest continuous wall of rock in this US mountain state.
Answer: Wyoming. Rising steeply over 6,000 feet from glacial basins below, Mount Warren’s towering West Face tops all others in Wyoming for sheer vertical relief.
Oddities & Trivia Riddles
Which month has the highest chance of fast-changing lightning storms around Mount Warren’s summit?
Answer: August. In most years, August sees the peak in sudden, violent thunderstorms that sweep over the mountain ranges of Wyoming, making Mount Warren’s heights extremely hazardous.
What was the original name bestowed on Mount Warren by the 1870 Folsom-Cook expedition party?
Answer: Cloud Peak. Before being renamed for a senator by Ferdinand Hayden, Mount Warren was originally christened Cloud Peak by members of Henry Cook’s 1870 survey crew when they first spotted the mountain.
True or false – Mount Warren’s summit rises to almost exactly the same elevation as the floor of Death Valley sinks below sea level?
Answer: True! Mount Warren tops out at 13,081 feet while Badwater Basin in Death Valley drops to 282 feet below sea level – an exact inverted elevation match.
Conclusion
From clever geological puzzles to brainteasers involving flowers and fauna, the riddles revealed about Mount Warren illuminate many aspects of this Wyoming mountain giant and its environment. Even experienced mountaineers may have struggled guessing some answers involving Warren’s extreme winter weather, eccentric climbers drawn to its cliffs, and the unique human and natural history of the peak and surrounding Wind River Range. But armed with this trivia knowledge, you now have secrets to confound your friends next time you gather around the campfire below the east face of Warren on a sparkling summer eve peering west as sunset alpenglow bathes this mysterious mountain wrapped in enigmas.
