Mount Constance

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.

Mount Constance
View from U.S. Highway 101 in Dosewallips State Park
Highest point
Elevation7,756 ft (2,364 m) [1]
Prominence1,956 ft (596 m) [1]
Parent peakMount Deception (7,788 ft)[1]
Isolation5.67 mi (9.12 km) [1]
Coordinates47°46′22″N 123°07′38″W [2]
Geography
Mount Constance
Location in Washington
Mount Constance
Mount Constance (the United States)
LocationJefferson County, Washington, U.S.
Parent rangeOlympic Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Mount Deception
Geology
Age of rockEocene
Type of rockBasalt
Climbing
First ascent1922 by Robert Schellin and A.E. Smith
Easiest routeRock & Ice climb

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 (5 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]

Climate
The summit block of Mount Constance

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. In fact, the most stunning views of the east side of Mount Constance and Warrior are readily 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.

See also

References
Avalanche Canyon of Mt. Constance
  1. "Mount Constance, Washington". Peakbagger.com.
  2. "Mt Constance". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey.
  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. ISSN 1027-5606.
  7. Alt, D.D.; Hyndman, D.W. (1984). Roadside Geology of Washington. 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.
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