Mount Stimson () is the second highest peak in
Glacier National Park, located in
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is part of the
Lewis Range
The Lewis Range is a mountain range located in the Rocky Mountains of northern Montana, United States and extreme southern Alberta, Canada. It was formed as a result of the Lewis Overthrust, a geologic thrust fault resulted in the overlying of y ...
, which spans much of the park.
It is located in the remote southwestern portion of the park, approximately west of 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, not ...
and southeast of
Lake McDonald
Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park. It is located at in Flathead County in the U.S. state of Montana. Lake McDonald is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long, and over a mile (1.6 km) wide and 472 feet (130 m) ...
. It is drained by
Pinchot Creek (on the south) and
Nyack Creek Nyack may refer to:
*Nyack, New York, a village
*Nyack College, whose main campus is in the village
*Nyack Pippin, or Nyack, a form of pippin apple
* USS ''Nyack'', the name of two U.S. Navy vessels
*Nyack, Montana, a location in Flathead County ...
(on the other sides), both of which flow into the Middle Fork of the
Flathead River
The Flathead River ( fla, label=Salish, člq̓etkʷ ntx̣ʷetkʷ, , kut, kananmituk), in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana, originates in the Canadian Rockies to the north of Glacier National Park and flows southwest into Flath ...
.
The mountain is named for
Henry L. Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and D ...
(1867–1950), former
U.S. Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
and twice
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
, who hiked and assisted
George Bird Grinnell
George Bird Grinnell (September 20, 1849 – April 11, 1938) was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in 1880 ...
survey the area in and around Glacier National Park in the 1890s, and supported efforts to establish the national park.
Notability
Mount Stimson is notable for its large, steep rise above local terrain. For example, its northwest face rises over from Nyack Creek in only . This makes it "truly a monster of a mountain."
It is also notable for its isolation; it is one of the farthest peaks from a roadhead in the park.
![Aerial view of Mount Stimson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Aerial_view_of_Mount_Stimson.jpg)
History
The first recorded ascent of Mount Stimson was in 1951, by J. Gordon Edwards and Alice Edwards; however they found clear evidence of a previous ascent. The standard route of ascent is the West or Northwest Face Route, starting from Nyack Creek. A backpacking trail runs along Nyack Creek, providing access; however the National Park Service warns that this is a more brushy and isolated trail than in other areas of the park, with numerous unbridged stream crossings.
As in the rest of the park,
grizzly bear
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
s are an issue as well.
The climbing route begins with "tiresome uphill bushwhacking...for possibly three hours" leading to alternating slopes and cliffs (
Grades 3 and 4).
Other routes on the peak include the Southeast Spur from Martha's Basin and the Pinchot Creek Route from the south.
![Mount Stimson, southwest aspect](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Mount_Stimson%2C_southwest_aspect.jpg)
See also
*
Mountains and mountain ranges of Glacier National Park (U.S.)
Mountains in Glacier National Park (U.S.) are part of the Rocky Mountains. There are at least 150 named mountain peaks over in Glacier in three mountain ranges--the Clark Range, Lewis Range, Livingston Range. Mount Cleveland at
is the high ...
References
External links
* Mt. Stimson photo
Flickr
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Mountains of Flathead County, Montana
Mountains of Glacier National Park (U.S.)
Lewis Range
Mountains of Montana