Mount Constance

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Mount Constance
Mt Constance Dosewallips River.JPG
View from U.S. Highway 101 in Dosewallips State Park
Highest point
Elevation 7,756 ft (2,364 m) [1]
Prominence 1,956 ft (596 m) [1]
Parent peak Mount Deception (7,788 ft) [1]
Isolation 5.67 mi (9.12 km) [1]
Coordinates 47°46′22″N123°07′38″W / 47.772815078°N 123.1273536°W / 47.772815078; -123.1273536 [2]
Geography
USA Washington relief location map.jpg
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Mount Constance
Location in Washington
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Mount Constance
Mount Constance (the United States)
Location Jefferson County, Washington, U.S.
Parent range Olympic Mountains
Topo map USGS Mount Deception
Geology
Age of rock Eocene
Type of rock Basalt
Climbing
First ascent 1922 by Robert Schellin and A.E. Smith
Easiest route Rock & Ice climb

Mount Constance is a peak in the Olympic Mountains of Washington and the third highest in the range. It is the most visually prominent peak on Seattle's western skyline. Despite being almost as tall as the ice-clad Mount Olympus to the west, Mount Constance has little in the way of glaciers and permanent snow because the eastern, and particularly this northeastern, portion of the Olympics receives far less precipitation. [3] However the narrow and steep Crystal Glacier still exists on the mountain's north face, shaded by the bulk of the main peak and with a small lake at its terminus. In addition, the treeline is higher here than mountains to the west, also hinting at the drier alpine conditions.

Contents

By virtue of its position at the eastern edge of the Olympics, Mount Constance also enjoys spectacular vertical relief. For example, it rises over 6,900 feet (2,100 m) above the Dosewallips River to the south in only 3 horizontal miles (4.8 km). It is also only 12 miles (20 km) from the tidewater of Hood Canal. The summit of Mount Constance lies on the boundary between Olympic National Park and Buckhorn Wilderness. The Constance massif includes Mount Constance, Inner Constance, the twin peaks of Warrior to the north, as well as numerous subsidiary summits on rocky southern ridges enclosing the cirque basin that contains Lake Constance.

History

In 1853, surveyor George Davidson named three mountains in the Olympics. He named Mount Ellinor for Ellinor Fauntleroy, who later became his wife, Mount Constance for Ellinor's older sister and The Brothers for her two brothers. [4]

A U.S. Army bomber plane from McChord Field crashed 800 feet (240 m) below the peak of Mount Constance in September 1941, killing all six aboard. [5] 21 March 1975: an air traffic controller confused aircraft call signs and cleared a McChord AFB based C-141A, 64–0641, of the 62d Military Airlift Wing, to descend below safe minimums and it impacted Mount Constance in the Olympic National Forest, Washington, killing 16 passengers and crew

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Constance is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. [6] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Olympic Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall (Orographic lift). As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months. Because of maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in avalanche danger. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but, due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer. The months July through September offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.

Geology

The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust. [7] The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.

Climbing

Routes on the mountain are from Class 3 to mid-Class 5, with ratings from Grade 2 to Grade 4. [8] Mount Constance was first climbed in 1922 by R. Schellin and A.E. Smith from the southeast.

Access

Boulder Ridge (including the Gargoyles, Charlia Lakes, Cloudy Peak, Alphabet Ridge, and Warrior) and Home Lake / Constance Pass are readily accessed via the Buckhorn Wilderness Area (U.S. Forest Service) side of the Upper Dungeness River Trail and Marmot Pass. An alternative approach to the Mount Constance massif—including Inner Constance and the twin peaks of Warrior—is via the Dosewallips River Trailhead off of US 101 and Hood Canal. A third alternative is to access the Constance massif via Quilcene logging roads (FS 2700 aka "Penny Creek Road" off U.S. 101) leading to a brief 6 to 7 miles (10 to 11 km) ascent to Tunnel Creek Ridge and the high alpine shores of Harrison Lake. Views of the east side of Mount Constance and Warrior are available from these roads (the lower portions of which are paved) which actually connect to FS 2800 and the Dungeness / Sequim area via the 5000-foot Bon Jon Pass.[ citation needed ]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper Mountain (Mason County, Washington)</span> Mountain in Washington (state), United States

Copper Mountain is a 5,425-foot (1,654 m) mountain summit located in the southeast portion of the Olympic Mountains, in Mason County of Washington state. It is situated on the boundary shared by Daniel J. Evans Wilderness and Mount Skokomish Wilderness, as well as the shared common border of Olympic National Park with Olympic National Forest. The nearest higher neighbor is Mount Ellinor, 1.67 miles (2.69 km) to the east. Wagonwheel Lake lies immediately north of the peak. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises nearly 4,700 feet (1,400 m) above the Staircase Ranger Station at Lake Cushman in approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north into the Hamma Hamma River, and south into the North Fork Skokomish River, thence Lake Cushman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson Peak</span> Mountain in Washington (state), United States

Jefferson Peak is a 5,720-foot (1,740 m) mountain summit located in the Olympic Mountains in Mason County of Washington state. It is situated in the Mount Skokomish Wilderness, on land managed by Olympic National Forest. The mountain's name honors Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), the third president of the United States. The nearest higher neighbor is line parent Mount Pershing, 1.3 mi (2.1 km) to the southwest. Precipitation runoff drains into Jefferson Creen and the Hamma Hamma River. Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises over 4,100 feet (1,200 m) above the Hamma Hamma valley in approximately one mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Needles (Olympic Mountains)</span> Mountain in Washington (state), United States

The Needles is a mountain ridge located within Olympic National Park in Jefferson County of Washington state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Mountain (Jefferson County, Washington)</span> Mountain in Washington, USA

Iron Mountain is a 6,826-foot (2,081-metre) elevation summit located in the eastern Olympic Mountains in Jefferson County of Washington state. It is set within Buckhorn Wilderness, on land managed by Olympic National Forest. It is situated between Buckhorn Mountain, 0.58 mi (0.93 km) to the southwest, and Mount Worthington, 0.76 mi (1.22 km) to the northeast. Precipitation runoff from Iron Mountain drains south into the Big Quilcene River, and north into Copper Creek which is a tributary of the Dungeness River. Topographic relief is significant as the southeast aspect rises 2,800 feet above the Big Quilcene River in less than one mile, and the north aspect rises 1,700 feet above Buckhorn Lake in one-half mile. Old-growth forests of Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western redcedar grow in the valleys surrounding the peak. The nearest community is Quilcene 11 miles to the east.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mount Constance, Washington". Peakbagger.com.
  2. "Mt Constance". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce.
  3. Google Earth images.
  4. "The story of three Olympic peaks". Washington Historical Quarterly. 4 (3): 182–86. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  5. "Fall Searching Season in Full Swing". Forest Service Bulletin. Washington, DC: United States Forest Service, Department of Agriculture. 25 (19): 7. November 1941. Available at Wikimedia Commons.
  6. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L. & McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi: 10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 . ISSN   1027-5606.
  7. Alt, D.D.; Hyndman, D.W. (1984). Roadside Geology of Washington. Mountain Press Publishing Company. pp. 249–259. ISBN   0-87842-160-2.
  8. Olympic Mountain Rescue (1988). Climber's Guide to the Olympic Mountains (3rd ed.). Seattle WA: The Mountaineers. p. 104.