Mount Saint Nicholas

Mount Saint Nicholas
Mount Saint Nicholas
Highest point
Elevation	9,381 ft (2,859 m) NAVD 88
Prominence	2,456 ft (749 m)
Coordinates	48°23′30″N113°33′01″W / 48.3916311°N 113.5503815°W Coordinates: 48°23′30″N113°33′01″W / 48.3916311°N 113.5503815°W
Geography
	Mount Saint Nicholas Location in Montana Mount Saint Nicholas Mount Saint Nicholas (the United States)
Location	Glacier National Park ; Flathead County, Montana, U.S.
Parent range	Lewis Range
Topo map	USGS Mount Saint Nicholas
Climbing
First ascent	1926 by Conrad Wellen
Easiest route	Northeast Ridge: technical rock climb

Last updated September 15, 2021

Mount Saint Nicholas is a peak in the remote southwestern section of Glacier National Park, in Montana. It is a particularly steep, pointed rock pinnacle, and its distinctive profile is visible from many summits in the southern half of the park. Because even its easiest ascent route is technical, with poor rock quality, it is "considered the most dangerous and difficult mountain for climbers in Glacier National Park."^[3]^: 335

Mount Saint Nicholas excels in terms of steep vertical relief, even by the high standards prevalent in Glacier National Park. For example, its northwest face rises one vertical mile (5,280 ft/1,609 m) in approximately 1.5 horizontal miles (7,920 ft/2.4 km). Due to its pointed shape and isolation from the Continental Divide, it has similarly precipitous drops in all directions.

In 1926, Reverend Conrad Wellen of Havre, Montana made the first ascent of Mount Saint Nicholas. The mountain had previously been considered by many to be unclimbable.^[3]^: 42 The standard route is the Northeast Ridge. Starting from the east side of the peak, this route begins with a straightforward scramble up a gully to a prominent notch. From the notch a thousand vertical feet of somewhat technical climbing remain.^[3]^: 337

Geology

Like other mountains in Glacier National Park, the peak is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was initially uplifted beginning 170 million years ago when the Lewis Overthrust fault pushed an enormous slab of precambrian rocks 3 mi (4.8 km) thick, 50 miles (80 km) wide and 160 miles (260 km) long over younger rock of the cretaceous period.^[4]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, the peak is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.^[5] Temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F.

Related Research Articles

Mount Cleveland is the highest mountain in Glacier National Park, located in Montana, United States. It is also the highest point in the Lewis Range, which spans part of the northern portion of the Park and extends into Canada. It is located approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) southeast of the southern end of Waterton Lake, and approximately 5 mi (8.0 km) south of the US/Canada border. The east side of the future national park was purchased by the federal government from the Blackfoot Confederacy in 1895 during the second term of President Cleveland. According to the United States Board on Geographic Names, the mountain is named for the former president.

Heavens Peak is located in the Livingston Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Heavens Peak is a little more than 1 mile (1.6 km) north of McPartland Mountain.

Mount Wilbur is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Plainly visible from the region of Many Glacier, the peak rises over 4,500 feet (1,372 m) above Swiftcurrent Lake and is a steep pyramid on three sides. The west slopes of the peak join to ridges along the continental divide. Much of the climbing routes are rated at class 4 to 5, with some only used once. The sedimentary rock of the mountains makes for often poor anchoring points and enhances the difficulty. A cirque on the north slopes of the mountain shelter Iceberg Lake, a popular hiking destination from Many Glacier.

Iceberg Peak is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Iceberg Peak rises more than 3,000 feet (910 m) above Iceberg Lake and is considered a difficult climb due to the steepness and exposure climbers must endure. The peak sits astride the continental divide 1.1 mi (1.8 km) WNW of Mount Wilbur.

Kootenai Peak is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Kootenai Peak is in the northeastern section of Glacier National Park.

McClintock Peak is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. McClintock Peak is situated along the Continental Divide. The Lake of the Seven Winds sits below the east slopes of the peak and Mount Morgan is .56 mi (0.90 km) to the south.

Mount Henkel is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Kennedy Lake is just to the north of the mountain.

Mount Kipp is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Immediately east of the summit lies the retreating Chaney Glacier. Mount Kipp is situated along the Continental Divide.

Mount Morgan is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Mount Morgan is situated along the Continental Divide. Oldman Lake is immediately east of the peak.

Norris Mountain is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Norris Mountain is situated along the Continental Divide; it is the parent of Triple Divide Peak—the point at which North America's Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific drainage basins converge—located 0.8 miles (1.3 km) east-southeast.

Sinopah Mountain is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Sinopah Mountain rises prominently to the west of Two Medicine Lake. Sinopah means, ""kit fox" in Blackfeet, (who) was the Indian wife of Hugh Monroe and daughter of Lone Walker, a powerful Blackfeet chief."

Battlement Mountain is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Lake Isabel is northeast of the peak.

Chapman Peak is located in the Livingston Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Chapman Peak is situated along the Continental Divide.

Mount Cannon is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Formerly called Goat Mountain it was renamed for the leading physiologist Dr. Walter Bradford Cannon and his wife Cornelia, who made the first recorded ascent of the mountain in 1901.

Mount Custer is a mountain in the Livingston Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Situated along the Continental Divide, Mount Custer rises more than 3,300 feet (1,000 m) above Lake Nooney, located below the summit to the east. Herbst Glacier is immediately northeast of the peak.

Mount Doody is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Mount Doody is astride the same ridgeline as the Cloudcroft Peaks which are to the immediate northeast.

The Guardhouse is located in the Livingston Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The Guardhouse is situated on the Continental Divide.

Mount Aberdeen is a 3,157-metre (10,358-foot) mountain summit located in the Lake Louise area of Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Lefroy, 2.9 km (1.8 mi) to the southwest. Haddo Peak is on the same massif with Mount Aberdeen, and the Aberdeen Glacier is between the two peaks.

B-7 Pillar is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The summit is located just northeast of Iceberg Peak, and one-half mile east of the Continental Divide.

Clyde Peak is an 8,610-foot-elevation mountain summit located in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The mountain straddles the border shared by Flathead County and Glacier County. It is situated on the Continental Divide so precipitation runoff from the west side of the mountain drains into Thompson Creek which is part of the Middle Fork Flathead River watershed, and the east side drains into headwaters of Red Eagle Creek, which flows to Red Eagle Lake, thence Saint Mary Lake. It is set in the Lewis Range, and the nearest higher neighbor is Mount Logan 1.44 mile to the northwest. Topographic relief is significant as the southwest aspect rises approximately 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) in one mile.

References

1 2 "Mount Saint Nicholas, Montana". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
↑ "Mount Saint Nicholas". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2013-01-20.
1 2 3 Edwards, J. Gordon (1995). A Climber's Guide to Glacier National Park. Falcon Press.
↑ Gadd, Ben (2008), Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias
↑ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.

External links

Mount Saint Nicholas on TopoQuest

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[pb-1] 1 2 "Mount Saint Nicholas, Montana". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2013-01-20.

[gnis-2] "Mount Saint Nicholas". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2013-01-20.

[Edwards-3] 1 2 3 Edwards, J. Gordon (1995). A Climber's Guide to Glacier National Park. Falcon Press.

[gadd-4] Gadd, Ben (2008), Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias

[Peel-5] Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.

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