Mount Constance

Mount Constance South Chute Solo in a Day

Climbing alone is not a priority for me, and shared mountain experiences with others are among my most vivid and cherished memories. However, climbing alone offers its own rewards... the quiet focus that comes from hours of not speaking, the attention to the wilderness that is required when you are solely responsible for yourself, and the rhythms of moving your own body over distance at your own pace and direction. 

I moved with my little family to Seattle in Autumn 2017, settling in north Ballard. Nearly every clear day since then my eyes have fallen upon a previously unknown to me mountain range of incredible beauty: the Olympics. Before moving to Seattle, I was only aware of the precipitous North Cascades and of course the big volcanoes. Now, I sip coffee and watch the light of the sunrise light up the eastern slopes of the Brothers; a bowl of snow and rime ice during the Winter months. The twin summits of the Brothers, with the elegant, scalloped ridge connecting them, were the first climbing objective that gripped me. I started to plot and plan an ascent, but the traverse would necessitate a partner. I planted the seed of an alpine outing with my climbing partner and watered it frequently, only to be reminded that scheduling and harmonizing lives from thousands of miles away can actually be the crux before the climb even starts. Alas, the Brothers traverse would have to wait.

But what of summer, with its long days, relatively stable weather, and more forgiving conditions in the alpine? Surely there is another climb that can be born of this spectacular season? Of course, just a few degrees to the north, an even taller and more steeple-like summit beckoned: Mount Constance. Despite a state literally filled with fantastic alpine objectives, I was a prisoner to the spires I watched filter the sunset each day. So, the last-minute plan for a solo trip to the Buckhorn Wilderness was hastily constructed to take advantage of one of the longest days of the year...

The Olympic National Forest, National Park, and the Buckhorn Wilderness are an utterly fantastic landscape. Without a climbing partner to share in the experience, I was compelled to share the experience post-climb through images and video. There is no shortage of information on the more technical aspects of climbing Mount Constance, with much hosted here and on cascadeclimbers.com. So instead I have assembled images in a more story-telling fashion through a trip report on CC.com which you can access HERE , you can find a load of Strava data here, here, and here, and you can watch the short I made of the climb here: