Editing Mount Constance

{{short description|Mountain in Washington (state), United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox mountain
 | name              = Mount Constance
 | photo             = Mt Constance Dosewallips River.JPG
 | photo_caption     = View from U.S. Highway 101 in [[Dosewallips State Park]]
 | elevation_ft      = 7756
 | elevation_ref     = <ref name="pb"><!-- No elevation on NGS datasheet -->{{cite peakbagger |pid=1022 |name=Mount Constance, Washington}}</ref>
 | prominence_ft     = 1956
 | prominence_ref    = <ref name="pb"/>
 | isolation_mi      = 5.67
 | isolation_ref     = <ref name="pb"/>
 | parent_peak       = [[Mount Deception (Washington)|Mount Deception]] (7,788 ft)<ref name=pb/>
 | location          = [[Jefferson County, Washington|Jefferson County]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], U.S.
 | range             = [[Olympic Mountains]]
 | map               = Washington#USA
 | map_size          = 270
 | map_caption       = Location in Washington
 | coordinates       = {{coord|47.772815078|N|123.1273536|W|type:mountain_region:US-WA_scale:100000_source:NGS|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
 | range_coordinates = 
 | coordinates_ref   = <ref name="ngs">{{cite ngs |pid=SY1607 |name=Mt Constance}}</ref>
 | topo              = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] Mount Deception
 | rock              = [[Basalt]]
 | age               = [[Eocene]]
 | 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 (state)|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 (Washington)|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.<ref>[[Google Earth]] images.</ref> 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.

By virtue of its position at the eastern edge of the Olympics, Mount Constance also enjoys spectacular vertical relief. For example, it rises over {{convert|6900|ft}} above the [[Dosewallips River]] to the south in only {{convert|3|mi|km|adj=pre|horizontal}}. It is also only {{convert|12|mi|-1}} 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 Peak|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 (geographer)|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 (Olympic Mountains)|The Brothers]] for her two brothers.<ref name="lewis">{{cite journal |title=The story of three Olympic peaks |journal=Washington Historical Quarterly |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=182–86 |url=https://digital.lib.washington.edu/ojs/index.php/WHQ/article/viewFile/5032/4109 |access-date=2011-01-05}}</ref>

A U.S. Army bomber plane from [[McChord Field]] crashed {{convert|800|ft}} below the peak of Mount Constance in September 1941, killing all six aboard.<ref>{{cite journal |publisher=United States Forest Service, Department of Agriculture |date=November 1941 |volume=25 |number=19 |location=Washington, DC |title=Fall Searching Season in Full Swing |journal=Forest Service Bulletin |page=7}} Available at [[:File:Service bulletin (IA servicebulletin2512unit).pdf|Wikimedia Commons]].</ref>
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]].<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. |name-list-style=amp | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 |issue=5 |page=1633 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P | issn = 1027-5606|doi-access=free }}</ref> Most [[weather front]]s 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 [[Oceanic climate|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 [[obduction|obducted]] [[clastic rock|clastic]] wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily [[Eocene]] [[sandstone]], [[turbidite]], and [[basalt]]ic oceanic crust.<ref name=Alt>{{cite book|last=Alt|first=D.D.|author2=Hyndman, D.W.|year=1984|title=Roadside Geology of Washington|pages=249–259|publisher=Mountain Press Publishing Company |isbn=0-87842-160-2}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Climber's Guide to the Olympic Mountains |edition=3rd |author=Olympic Mountain Rescue |page=104 |publisher=The Mountaineers |location=Seattle WA |year=1988}}</ref> 
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 Peak|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 {{convert|6|to|7|mi|0}} 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, Washington|Dungeness]] / [[Sequim]] area via the 5000-foot Bon Jon Pass.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

==Gallery==
<div style="max-width: 500px;">
<gallery mode=slideshow>
File:Olympic mountain range, Olympic National Forest (35681711973).jpg|Mt. Constance from ENE (Tunnel Creek area)
File:The summit block of Mount Constance.jpg|The summit block of Mount Constance
File:Mount Constance from West Seattle.jpg|Constance from West Seattle
File:Mount Constance.jpg|Constance seen from Hood Canal
File:Avalanche Canyon of Mt. Constance.png|Avalanche Canyon of Mt. Constance
File:Mt Constance.jpg|North aspect of Constance from Buckhorn Mountain
</gallery>
</div>

==See also==
{{Portal|Mountains}}
* [[Olympic Mountains]]
* [[Geology of the Pacific Northwest]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* Weather forecast: [https://www.yr.no/place/United_States/Washington/Mount_Constance/ Mount Constance]
* {{cite gnis |id=1518031 |name=Mount Constance}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Constance, Mount}}
[[Category:Mountains of Jefferson County, Washington]]
[[Category:Mountains of Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Olympic Mountains]]
[[Category:Landforms of Olympic National Park]]