A Hidden Tragedy in the Olympic Mountain Range

C-141 Peak from peakbagger.com

Mount Constance, Olympic National Park, ca. 1923
Courtesy UW Special Collections (Image UW22290z)

            On March 20^th, 1975 the weather was like any other March day in the Pacific Northwest. With a high of 47 and a low of 35, Port Angeles was having another grey, dreary day on the Olympic Peninsula. Only .02 of an inch of rain fell, a very typical amount in the rain shadow of the Olympics. In fact, the winter of 1975 had so far been a bust, but the local paper was telling residents that snow was finally on its way. Far above the city, a storm was whipping around with fierce winds and hurricane force winds, but the residents of this sleepy hamlet located on the Strait of Juan de Fuca had no idea what was going on.  With news like that, not much was going on in this small town on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula, but all that was about to change.

Air Force C-141A Starlifter over Tacoma, n.d.
Courtesy U. S. Air Force

            6,500 miles away a C-141 aircraft was leaving Clark AFB, in the Philippines. With a stop off in Japan to pick up a few more soldiers, this flight was a homecoming of sorts for all the troops Some were being transferred to different areas, but some we ending a long international deployment. 16 service men were onboard this flight, but the next 20hours would prove to be their last. At approximately 11:05 PM, their plane dropped off of radar and slammed into a peak located between Warrior Peak and Mt. Constance. All 16 service men were killed, though many of their bodies were not found until the snows had melted and rescue crews could go back up and search. The peak, being so isolated, and the weather being so difficult, made recovery of the bodies of this accident take nearly 3 months. The accident was due to human error, as an air traffic controller out of Seattle gave the wrong coordinates to the already exhausted flight crew. While this accident could have been avoided, it did bring a bit more attention and understanding as to just how remote and unexplored the Olympic Mountains are. Rescue crews battled weather, avalanches, landslides and pouring rain, just to locate the wreckage. It ended up taking until June 16^th to locate the final bodies because of dangerous, unpredictable weather. In typical accidents at this elevation, rescue crews can be launched and find the bodies in a matter of day. Because of the rugged, unpredictable, hard to hike Olympic Mountains, it took early 2 full months.

The nose of the plane on the Peak, Courtesy of Google

            What is now known as C-141 peak was first climbed in 1974 by P. Carney, R. LaBelle, and M. Martin. Before that time, it was just a rugged outcrop that had always been assumed was a part of Mount Constance, however, after the 1975 accident, it was reclassified as it’s own mountain and named C-141 peak. At 7,339ft it is the 15^th tallest peak in the Olympic Mountain range, but it is one of the hardest to get to. With approach routes up the Lake Constance trail (Link 1 or Link 2)  just getting to a place where you can climb proves to be difficult. C-141 peak is on the list of the top 15 mountains on the Olympic Peninsula, and had it not been for an unfortunate plane crash, killing all on board, even fewer people would know of its existence. C-141 peak needs to be climbed, needs to be remembered and needs to be respected.

Front page, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, on U.S. Air Force C-141A Starlifter crash into Mount Constance that occurred on March 20, 1975
Courtesy Seattle Post-Intelligencer

           Exotic Hikes will be climbing C-141 peak this year, in hopes to document the route and climb for the first time since 1987 (according to any internet searches). If you are interested in joining us on this historic climb, please contact us today! Finally, on March 20th this year, take some time and look at the Olympic Mountains. Remember that 37 years ago, the worst accident in the Olympic National Park’s history occurred. 

Mount Constance (center) as seen from Alki Point, January 22, 2008
HistoryLink.org photo by Daryl C. McClary

See you on the trails, 

Douglas Scott

Exotic Hikes













With thanks to Historylink.org

The American Himalayas

          












 

       The Himalayas are shrouded with a mystique as being the gateway to Shangri-La and the roof top of the world. Diverse plant life, wildlife and natural features bring millions of tourists to Kathmandu to experience the Himalayas, and everyone wants to experience the raw and awesome power of nature that they can offer. While the Himalayas are beautiful, awe-inspiring and breath-taking, one can find a place in America that is almost as diverse and able to serve as a place for a spiritual journey to connect with nature.  While the Himalayas may be the ultimate bucket list destination, the Olympic Mountains can offer you one thing that the Himalayas are getting less likely to give you: solitude.

                Nestled in the northern most point in the continental United States, Tucked away deep within a National Park, the Olympic range juts out from the rainforest canopy, towering above everything else on the Olympic Peninsula. While it is just a few hours’ drive or ferry ride from an urban population of well over a million people, few of the masses take the time or have the passion for exploration which will take them deep in the Olympic Mountains. With hundreds of peaks about 5000ft and over 89 peaks over 6500ft (with over a 400ft of cleared prominence) climbers have a wide variety of skills sets to master in order to experience them all. Like the Himalayas, the Olympic Mountains offer little as far as infrastructure inside the area, with much trekking done up old animal trails and through weather beaten landslide and avalanche prone areas. In both the Olympic Mountains and the Himalayas, weather can change quickly and it can be weeks before you can be warm or dry. Also, bugs, flooding and natural disasters can all ruin what would normally be a good trip. While the Himalayas are world renowned, the Olympic Mountains serve as a miniature version of them, allowing for exploration, isolation and developing a deeper connection to nature while you are at either place.

                To best appreciate the vastness of the Olympic Mountains, one needs to journey to the Kathmandu of the Olympic Peninsula.  The city which serves as a gateway is Port Angeles, Washington. Port Angeles is located on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and a few hours ferry ride from Victoria British Columbia, Canada. With almost 20,000 people (according to the 2010 US Census), this small town acts as a Port of Entry to the United States,  to the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park. Port Angeles was also established as the headquarters for the Olympic National Park, which was created in 1938. While the city itself has a few rolling hills, few parts of the town lay above a few hundred feet above sea level. Yet, following a 17 mile road to the south, you climb to over 5000ft to the Hurricane Ridge area. Random side note: Port Angeles is the birthplace of Quarterback John Elway.  
                         

                                                              Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge stands at over 5000ft, (600ft higher than Kathmandu!) but is located just mere miles from sea level, showing the sheer power that was needed to create such a rugged terrain. Huge sweeping valleys dive deep along gorges of old growth forests, only to jut back up into the heavens with yet another ridge of mountain peaks. With a new, state of the art lodge, miles of trails, as well as a small ski/snowboard run(open in the winter only), Hurricane Ridge offers the entire family a great wealth of activities to do. Besides the day activities that one can do at Hurricane Ridge, it is also a great place to stand and stare at the impressive vista of the interior of the Olympic National Park. From the lodge, one can see miles in every direction, laying their eyes on peaks that otherwise may be hidden from view from everywhere else on the Olympic Peninsula. Hurricane Ridge allows the imagination to take over, giving the viewer the full force and greatness of nature.

Hurricane ridge provides tourists with a vantage point to see what lies deep within the temperate rainforest. With views of Mt. Olympus, and numerous other peaks, Hurricane Ridge is the place to go to be inspired to explore the green, alpine jungles of the Pacific Northwest. With miles of snowshoe and cross-country ski trails (some well-groomed with the VW Bus you see above) in the winter, to summertime ridgeline trails with sweeping vistas, blooming wildflowers and an abundance of wildlife, the Hurricane Ridge area in the Olympic National Park is the rooftop to the Pacific Northwest.

For tours of the Olympic Peninsula and Hurricane Ridge, call Exotic Hikes at (360) 350-8938 or follow us on twitter @exotichikes. Until then, see you on the trails!

Douglas Scott
Exotic Hikes