Colchuck Balanced Rock is an

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

mountain summit located in Chelan County of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

state. Colchuck Balanced Rock is part of

The Enchantments The Enchantments is a region within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area of Washington (state), Washington state's Cascade Mountain Range. At an elevation of 4,500 feet (1,372 m), it is home to over 700 alpine lakes and ponds surrounded by the vast ...

within the

Alpine Lakes Wilderness The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a large National Wilderness Preservation System, wilderness area spanning the Central Cascades of Washington (state), Washington state in the United States. The wilderness is located in parts of Wenatchee National ...

. It belongs to the

Stuart Range The Stuart Range is a mountain range in central Washington (state), Washington, United States. The range lies within the eastern extent of the Cascade Range immediately southwest of Leavenworth, Washington, Leavenworth and runs east–west. ...

which is subset of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

. Colchuck Balanced Rock is situated west of

Enchantment Peak Enchantment Peak is an granite summit located in Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. Enchantment Peak is part of The Enchantments within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Enchantment Peak belongs t ...

, and east of Jabberwocky Tower and

Colchuck Lake Colchuck Lake is a freshwater reservoir lake located on the western slope of the Enchantments, in Chelan County, Washington. The lake is located approximately 15 miles from the city of Leavenworth, Washington and sits on the southeast corner of t ...

. Precipitation runoff from the peak drains into the lake and Mountaineer Creek, a tributary of

Icicle Creek Icicle Creek is a non navigable stream in the U.S. state of Washington (U.S. state), Washington. It originates at Josephine Lake near the crest of the Cascade Range and flows generally east to join the Wenatchee River near Leavenworth, Washington ...

. The climbing approach is via the Colchuck Lake Trail, then traversing away from

Aasgard Pass Aasgard Pass, officially identified as Colchuck Pass, (elevation ) is a mountain pass on the east side of the Cascades in Washington's Alpine Lakes Wilderness southwest of Leavenworth. It is the shorter and steeper of two primary hiking routes ...

approximately 400 feet above the lake. The mountain is named for its pyramidal summit which has a top-block that nests, rather than balances, on the summit.Beckey, Fred W. Cascade Alpine Guide, Climbing and High Routes. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books, 2008. The mountain and glacier take their name from the lake, which in

Chinook jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...

means "''cold water''".

Climate

Weather front A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For ins ...

s coming off the Pacific Ocean travel east toward the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the Cascades (

Orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

). As a result, the Cascades experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. 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.

Geology

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness features some of the most rugged topography in the

with craggy peaks and ridges, deep

glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

s, and

spires spotted with over 700 mountain lakes. Geological events occurring many years ago created the diverse topography and drastic elevation changes over the Cascade Range leading to various climate differences. Colchuck Balanced Rock

The history of the formation of the Cascade Mountains dates back millions of years ago to the late

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

Epoch. With the North American Plate overriding the Pacific Plate, episodes of volcanic igneous activity persisted. In addition, small fragments of the

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

and

continental lithosphere A lithosphere () is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the lithospheric mantle, the topmost portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time sc ...

called

terrane In geology, a terrane (; in full, a tectonostratigraphic terrane) is a crust fragment formed on a tectonic plate (or broken off from it) and accreted or " sutured" to crust lying on another plate. The crustal block or fragment preserves its d ...

s created the

North Cascades The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and ...

about 50 million years ago. During the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

period dating back over two million years ago, glaciation advancing and retreating repeatedly scoured the landscape leaving deposits of rock debris. The last glacial retreat in the Alpine Lakes area began about 14,000 years ago and was north of the Canada–US border by 10,000 years ago. The U-shaped cross section of the river valleys is a result of that recent glaciation. Uplift and faulting in combination with glaciation have been the dominant processes which have created the tall peaks and deep valleys of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area.

Climbing Routes

Colchuck Balanced Rock above Colchuck Lake

Climbing Routes on Colchuck Balanced RockColchuck Balanced Rock Climbing
Mountain Project * Colchuck Balanced Rock Col - * The Tipping Point - 8 pitches * Let it Burn - 8 pitches * West Face - 9 pitches * The Tempest - 6 pitches * Full Tilt (Tempest Wall Free Version) - 5 pitches * The Scoop - 10 pitches * Rikki Tikki Tavi - 5 pitches * Leche La Vaca - 4 pitches

References

External links

Alpine Lakes Wilderness (Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest)
U.S. Forest Service {{Geographic Location , Center = Colchuck Balanced Rock , North =

Cashmere Mountain Cashmere Mountain is an mountain summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. Cashmere Mountain is situated within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. It is part of the Wenatchee ...

, Northeast = Cannon Mountain , East =

, Southeast =

, South =

Little Annapurna Little Annapurna is an mountain summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. The origin of the name came from the Sherpa Climbing Club of Ellensburg and is inspired by the obvious resemblance to its Himalayan namesake when comparin ...

, Southwest =

Dragontail Peak Dragontail Peak, also known as Dragon Tail, is a mountain in the Stuart Range, in Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (U.S. state), Washington. While climbing an adjacent peak, Lex Maxwell, Bob McCall, and Bill Prater remarked t ...

, West = Jabberwocky Tower , Northwest = Mountaineer Creek Mountains of Chelan County, Washington Cascade Range Climbing areas of the United States