Cloud Peak

Cloud Peak
Cloud Peak
	Cloud Peak, from Paint Rock Creek drainage.
Highest point
Elevation	13,171 ft (4,015 m)
Prominence	7,067 ft (2,154 m)
Listing	North America highest peaks 117th; North America prominent peaks 73rd; North America isolated peaks 84th; US highest major peaks 98th;
Coordinates	44°22′56″N 107°10′26″W / 44.3821°N 107.173914436°W
Geography
	Cloud Peak Wyoming
Location	Big Horn / Johnson counties, Wyoming, U.S.
Parent range	Bighorn Mountains
Topo map	USGS Cloud Peak
Climbing
First ascent	1897
Easiest route	Hike/scramble

Cloud Peak is the highest peak within the Bighorn Mountains in the U.S. state of Wyoming.

Location

It rises to an elevation of 13,171 feet (4,015 m)^[1] and provides onlookers with dramatic views and vistas. The mountain can be climbed most easily from the western side, accessed by either the Battle Park or West Tensleep trail-heads and is roughly 24 miles round-trip from both. The peak is located in the 189,000 acre (765 km²) Cloud Peak Wilderness within Bighorn National Forest. The northeast slope of Cloud Peak is a deep cirque which harbors Cloud Peak Glacier, the last active glacier in the Bighorn Mountains.

Cloud Peak is on the border between Johnson County and Big Horn County in Wyoming and is the high point of both counties.^[2] As the high point of an isolated range, Cloud Peak has the greatest topographic prominence in the state, 7,077 feet (2,157 m), one foot more than the state's highest mountain, 13,810 foot (4,210 m) Gannett Peak,^[3] and fifteenth greatest in the contiguous United States.^[4]

Climate

Cloud Peak has an Alpine climate (ET).

Climate data for Cloud Peak 44.3831 N, 107.1748 W, Elevation: 12,654 ft (3,857 m) (1991–2020 normals)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	16.6 (−8.6)	16.9 (−8.4)	23.2 (−4.9)	27.7 (−2.4)	36.6 (2.6)	46.9 (8.3)	56.0 (13.3)	54.9 (12.7)	46.6 (8.1)	34.2 (1.2)	22.7 (−5.2)	16.2 (−8.8)	33.2 (0.7)
Daily mean °F (°C)	7.8 (−13.4)	7.2 (−13.8)	12.8 (−10.7)	17.5 (−8.1)	26.3 (−3.2)	36.1 (2.3)	44.2 (6.8)	43.0 (6.1)	35.4 (1.9)	24.3 (−4.3)	14.3 (−9.8)	7.6 (−13.6)	23.0 (−5.0)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	−1.1 (−18.4)	−2.5 (−19.2)	2.5 (−16.4)	7.2 (−13.8)	16.0 (−8.9)	25.2 (−3.8)	32.5 (0.3)	31.1 (−0.5)	24.1 (−4.4)	14.5 (−9.7)	5.9 (−14.5)	−1.1 (−18.4)	12.9 (−10.6)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	3.47 (88)	3.23 (82)	3.78 (96)	5.26 (134)	5.59 (142)	4.40 (112)	2.63 (67)	1.60 (41)	3.19 (81)	3.98 (101)	3.24 (82)	2.87 (73)	43.24 (1,099)
Source: PRISM Climate Group^[5]

Cloud Peak Reservoir is a mountain lake below Cloud Peak on its eastern slopes. The weather station there has a subalpine climate (Köppen Dfc).

Climate data for Cloud Peak Reservoir, Wyoming, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1989–present, elev. 9860ft (3005m)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	58 (14)	58 (14)	61 (16)	67 (19)	69 (21)	80 (27)	81 (27)	81 (27)	78 (26)	70 (21)	64 (18)	55 (13)	81 (27)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	48.5 (9.2)	47.6 (8.7)	52.8 (11.6)	58.0 (14.4)	63.3 (17.4)	70.0 (21.1)	75.6 (24.2)	74.1 (23.4)	70.6 (21.4)	62.4 (16.9)	53.7 (12.1)	46.6 (8.1)	76.5 (24.7)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	30.1 (−1.1)	31.0 (−0.6)	37.7 (3.2)	41.7 (5.4)	49.4 (9.7)	57.5 (14.2)	65.2 (18.4)	64.2 (17.9)	56.4 (13.6)	45.3 (7.4)	35.9 (2.2)	29.2 (−1.6)	45.3 (7.4)
Daily mean °F (°C)	18.5 (−7.5)	17.9 (−7.8)	24.2 (−4.3)	28.9 (−1.7)	37.7 (3.2)	45.7 (7.6)	52.4 (11.3)	51.3 (10.7)	44.1 (6.7)	33.5 (0.8)	24.1 (−4.4)	17.2 (−8.2)	33.0 (0.5)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	7.0 (−13.9)	4.8 (−15.1)	10.6 (−11.9)	16.1 (−8.8)	25.9 (−3.4)	33.8 (1.0)	39.6 (4.2)	38.3 (3.5)	31.7 (−0.2)	21.8 (−5.7)	12.3 (−10.9)	5.3 (−14.8)	20.6 (−6.3)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	−16.2 (−26.8)	−19.3 (−28.5)	−11.3 (−24.1)	−4.5 (−20.3)	7.6 (−13.6)	24.1 (−4.4)	31.9 (−0.1)	29.6 (−1.3)	17.7 (−7.9)	−1.1 (−18.4)	−12.7 (−24.8)	−20.1 (−28.9)	−26.1 (−32.3)
Record low °F (°C)	−39 (−39)	−33 (−36)	−33 (−36)	−21 (−29)	−7 (−22)	13 (−11)	25 (−4)	19 (−7)	2 (−17)	−25 (−32)	−29 (−34)	−39 (−39)	−39 (−39)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	1.70 (43)	1.81 (46)	2.83 (72)	4.17 (106)	4.84 (123)	2.78 (71)	2.04 (52)	1.44 (37)	2.36 (60)	3.04 (77)	1.88 (48)	1.67 (42)	30.56 (777)
Average extreme snow depth inches (cm)	38.6 (98)	47.3 (120)	59.5 (151)	63.7 (162)	58.5 (149)	24.3 (62)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	4.7 (12)	11.4 (29)	21.0 (53)	29.9 (76)	69.1 (176)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	9.9	10.2	13.3	17.3	15.9	11.2	9.0	7.5	9.1	12.1	9.7	9.4	134.6
Source 1: XMACIS2 (snow depth 2006–2020)^[6]
Source 2: NOAA (Precipitation)^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "Cloud Peak". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ ^a ^b "Cloud Peak, Wyoming". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ "Wyoming 13,000-foot Peaks". Retrieved 2011-05-09.
^ "Most Prominent Peaks of the U.S. States". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ "PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University". PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University. Retrieved October 2, 2023. To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991–2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.
^ "xmACIS2". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
^ "Cloud Peak Reservoir, Wyoming 1991–2020 Monthly Normals". Retrieved October 12, 2023.