Colchuck Balanced Rock is an granite mountain summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. Colchuck Balanced Rock is part of The Enchantments within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. It belongs to the Stuart Range 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 and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

. Colchuck Balanced Rock is situated west of

Enchantment Peak Enchantment Peak is an granite summit located in Chelan County of Washington state. Enchantment Peak is part of The Enchantments within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Enchantment Peak belongs to the Stuart Range which is subset of the Cascade R ...

, 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 ...

. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

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

Icicle Creek Icicle Creek is a nonNavigable stream in the U.S. state of Washington. It originates at Josephine Lake near the crest of the Cascade Range and flows generally east to join the Wenatchee River near Leavenworth. Icicle Creek's drainage basin is mo ...

. 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 means "''cold water''".

Climate

Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Cascade Mountains. 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). 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 valleys, and granite 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 Epoch. With the North American Plate overriding the

Pacific Plate The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At , it is the largest tectonic plate. The plate first came into existence 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Iza ...

, episodes of volcanic igneous activity persisted. In addition, small fragments of the oceanic and continental lithosphere called terranes created the North Cascades about 50 million years ago. During the Pleistocene 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 are a result of that recent glaciation.

Uplift Uplift may refer to: Science * Geologic uplift, a geological process ** Tectonic uplift, a geological process * Stellar uplift, the theoretical prospect of moving a stellar mass * Uplift mountains * Llano Uplift * Nemaha Uplift Business * Uplif ...

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, Washington, Chelan County of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. Cashmere Mountain is situated within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatc ...

, Northeast = Cannon Mountain , East =

, Southeast = The Enchantments , South =

Little Annapurna Little Annapurna is an 8,440+ ft granite 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 ...

, Southwest =

Dragontail Peak Dragontail Peak, also known as Dragon Tail, is a mountain in the Stuart Range, in Chelan County, Washington. While climbing an adjacent peak, Lex Maxwell, Bob McCall, and Bill Prater remarked that the needles on the crest, southwest of the summ ...

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