Inner Constance by Nathan Ehresman

“What is so inner about Inner Constance?” Bruce mused. Most mountain structures in the Olympics with distinct multiple peaks have bland names with the usual geographic theme: North and South Brother, for example, or West and East Peaks of Mt. Olympus (which also has a Middle Peak.) Closer to Constance there is Mt. Buckhorn, with its Southwest and Northeast peaks, or conversely Warrior Peak, with its Southeast and Northwest peaks.

Why Inner? Would that not imply an “Outer Constance”? No such place exists. The name Inner Constance is strangely evocative. It sounds like “inner sanctum;” what treasures must lie within? What sacred wisdom or closely-guarded secret is hidden in that mountain stronghold? What special knowledge or profound truth will be revealed to the adventurer who attains those heights? And what will be the rite of initiation?
We were determined to find out.

We went just after mid-June, when considerable snow was still laying in Avalanche Valley. The road to the Dosewallips trailhead was washed out about 3 miles shy of the Lake Constance trailhead, adding insult to the already insulting “climber’s trail” up to the lake. The washout was so huge that, were it not for a make-shift detour up through the forest, one would have had to rappel off the road to the gravel bed and then aid back up out on the far side. We could not imagine that this would be fixed for some time.

We camped in Avalanche Valley, at the base of Constance route 1C (the Mazama route.) After some discussion, we agreed to attempt a comprehensive exploration of the unknown InnerC heights by ascending via route 1 and returning via route 2A. This traverse of the high ridge leading to the summit would certainly give us ample opportunity to unlock the secrets of this sanctuary.

We left at 05:20 from camp and climbed up the obvious waterfall. The slabs immediately adjacent to the water course are well-polished by winter avalanches, but nevertheless contain a minimalist network of seams and divots that permit progress. The route goes (more easily than it might appear from camp), but the proximity of the mountain torrent, the mossy slime packing the cracks, and the water seeping over the slabs from snowfields above were all a bit unnerving.
Above the stream, we made directly for the ridge, thereby getting off-route. We thought we were climbing to the north of Stasis, but were in fact only north of C-141 Peak. We ultimately had to lose some altitude on the east flank and traverse north into the next couloir. The guidebook warns that crampons can be needed when this steep and well-shadowed couloir is icy, but the sun had already softened the snow enough that we had no problems kick-stepping to regain the ridge.

From here, the route traverses on ledges across the west side of the Pyramid. From the Pyramid route description, I had deduced that this traverse was only class 3. The Constance range, however, has a different interpretation of class 3. After all, the remote west face of InnerC is a steep and cliffy affair, with only one known route (class 4). Snow lingering on the ledges provided a fine bit of spice, converting what in mid-summer might be a stroll on a level sidewalk into a series of traverses on steep snow with zero run-out and huge exposure down into the valley below.

With some relief we regained the ridge and the sunshine and scrambled warm rock along the ridge to the final summit block. The route we were on is reportedly 4th class, but I suspect the only 4th class section lies in going straight up the south aspect of the summit block. The lower section looked good, but later, from the summit, quick reconnaissance indicated that the upper part was less appealing. The guidebook says it is 100 ft of steep rotten rock. It didn’t look that bad (then again I like Gu) but, given that it is the usual unprotectable pillow basalt, I passed up this particular rite of initiation.

Instead, a slim and ill-defined ledge system cuts across the base of the summit block. It is hard to see from a distance – so much so that apparently only I could see it. The others, having no confidence a traverse would go at less than 5.14b-X, sat down and watched and waited to see if I would survive. Across the face the ledge turns up into a chimney which exits onto easy class 2 terrain up to the summit. We were all on the summit by 11:00.

For the descent (route 2A), we dropped below the ascent chimney-exit and worked into the top of a minor snow-filled couloir. This led sideways down shortly to a broader snow slope. Fog was building around us, and I became more cautious: I remembered from a reconnaissance years earlier that the InnerC upper slopes were divided from the bottom by cliff bands. A glissade down the fall-line, in the fog, might easily result in disaster. The secret here instead is NOT to follow the fall-line but to angle hard south across the slope.

The southern side of this slope drops off in sheer cliffs, but a remarkable breach splits the cliffs. One cannot see the entrance of the breach until poised at its entrance: this alley-like passage drops steeply down between rock walls which narrow to 10 meters apart. This slot must certainly see some wild wind patterns, as the snow was carved into scoops and whorls.

Down-climbing this bit was somewhat intimidating. The run-out was not safe until the very end, and the passage was too narrow to dodge right or left. A slip would send a climber ricocheting off the walls, most certainly sweeping off everyone below. If it was icy, some parties might even elect to rappel, but we were able to kick-step our way down.

This passage emptied onto a gentler slope that afforded an excellent glissade all the way down past the Thumb and into the bowl at the head of Avalanche Valley. From there, an easy ramble brought us back to camp by 1pm.

So what is so inner about InnerC? The secrets InnerC has to offer are the unusual perspectives into both Constance herself and the heart of the Olympics. Seen from Seattle, Constance is an up thrust series of cliffs: but from InnerC, one has a spectacular front-row seat to a north-south panoply of spires, towers and pinnacles leaning together shoulder-to-shoulder, remarkable and far-less-traveled heights that harbor unclimbed faces, ambiguous approaches, and an obscure and unrepeated 5.9 route. In morning and midday light, these faces are usually in shadow (as were the conditions we had), but what a glorious performance one should expect from a vantage high on InnerC when the setting sun plays its red-orange light across Constance’s sheer rock towers!

Looking westward from Constance, the views of the interior Olympics are largely obstructed – by InnerC! – but from InnerC, the whole northeast range is laid out at one's feet. One has a clear view of the Dungeness River headwaters, Mt. Mystery, Warrior, the Needles, Mt. Deception and the other mountains ringing Royal Lake Basin, and even further. Even little Home Lake, still snowbound, was so close below it seemed we could lob a stone into it. (Well, I DID say the west side was steep.)

As a climb, I would say that the route we took was slightly easier than the standard routes on Constance. The route-finding (assuming one knows about the alleyway on route 2A) was less complex, and the round-trip time noticeably shorter. The rock scrambling was easier and not as exposed. On the other hand, under slightly more icy conditions, the steeper snow sections would be on par with, or even more interesting than, the north couloir on Constance. Our route was definitely longer and much more scenic than the standard routes on the S. Brother or Warrior. I would certainly recommend InnerC as an attractive alternative to Constance for those interested in fun mountaineering.

(If you go: check road conditions. The NPS is still trying to decide whether or not to rebuild the Dosewallips road at the washout. Take mountain bikes if the road is still washed out, and stash them in the forest at the bottom of the Lake Constance trail. Go before mid-June, because snow on the route really spices things up. Try top-roping the “summit directe” and report back. And definitely take the side trip to bag Pyramid.)