Sinks Canyon is a premier climbing destination near Lander, Wyoming. Within a few miles, the rock changes from sandstone to limestone, and then to granite as you get closer to The Wind River Range. There are fantastic trad climbs on the sandstone and granite and superb sport climbing on the limestone. The rock quality is generally excellent, and the climbing ranges from 5.6-5.14. You can climb at Sinks year-round, seeking shade in the summer and south-facing walls in the winter.
The nearby Wild Iris is one of the most sublime sport climbing areas in the United States. It is a couple of thousand feet higher elevation than Sinks Canyon, so less of a winter climbing spot (but still can be quite warm on a cold sunny day). The rock here is limestone. The climbs are mostly short and steep, occasionally sharp, and with great movement. There are plenty of routes from 5.9 on up to 5.14.
The first time I climbed at both Sinks Canyon and Wild Iris was over Thanksgiving Weekend 2022. I had never been there before (Nate had climbed at Wild Iris only one day about 16 years previous, and never at Sinks) and it sounded like a great place to climb in the sun on superb rock and avoid the Thanksgiving crowds elsewhere. We stayed at a cozy airbnb near Lander. Unfortunately chilly temperatures and lack of sun caused us to shorten our trip by a day but it was still a great trip. We will be back!
On this page, I give photos from our Thanksgiving trip to Sinks Canyon and Wild Iris. At the bottom of the page, I keep a list of the climbs I've done in these areas.
