Mount Saint Nicholas is a peak in the remote southwestern section of Glacier National Park, in

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

. It is a particularly steep, pointed

rock pinnacle A pinnacle, tower, spire, needle or natural tower (german: Felsnadel, ''Felsturm'' or ''Felszinne'') in geology is an individual column of rock, isolated from other rocks or groups of rocks, in the shape of a vertical shaft or spire. Examples ar ...

, 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." 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 A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, no ...

, it has similarly precipitous drops in all directions. In 1926, Reverend Conrad Wellen of

Havre, Montana Havre ( ) is the county seat and largest city in Hill County, Montana, United States. Havre is nicknamed the crown jewel of the Hi-Line. It is said to be named after the city of Le Havre in France. As of the 2020 census the population was 9,362 ...

made the first ascent of Mount Saint Nicholas. The mountain had previously been considered by many to be unclimbable. 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.

Geology

Like other mountains in Glacier National Park, the peak is composed of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particle ...

laid down during the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of th ...

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was initially uplifted beginning 170 million years ago when the

Lewis Overthrust The Lewis Overthrust is a geologic thrust fault structure of the Rocky Mountains found within the bordering national parks of Glacier in Montana, United States and Waterton Lakes in Alberta, Canada. The structure was created due to the collision of ...

fault pushed an enormous slab of

precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of th ...

rocks thick, wide and long over younger rock of the

cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

period.

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

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

References

External links

Mount Saint Nicholas on TopoQuest
Mountains of Flathead County, Montana Mountains of Glacier National Park (U.S.) Lewis Range Mountains of Montana {{FlatheadCountyMT-geo-stub

Geology

Climate

See also

References

External links