Mount Stimson

---

title: "Mount Stimson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mountains-of-flathead-county,-montana", "mountains-of-glacier-national-park-(u.s.)", "lewis-range", "mountains-of-montana"] description: "Mountain in the American state of Montana" topic_path: "general/mountains-of-flathead-county-montana" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Stimson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain in the American state of Montana ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Mount Stimson
photo	Stimson and Pinchot.jpg
photo_caption	Mount Stimson's west aspect, centered
(Mount Pinchot to right)
elevation_ft	10147
elevation_ref
prominence_ft	4382
prominence_ref
range	Lewis Range
location	Flathead County, Montana, U.S.
map	Montana#USA
relief	1
map_caption	Location in Montana##Location in the United States
coordinates
coordinates_ref
topo	USGS Mount Stimson
type
first_ascent	J. Gordon Edwards and Alice Edwards (1951) and likely earlier
easiest_route	Hike/scramble (Class 3/4)
::

| name = Mount Stimson | photo = Stimson and Pinchot.jpg | photo_caption = Mount Stimson's west aspect, centered (Mount Pinchot to right) | elevation_ft = 10147 | elevation_ref = | prominence_ft = 4382 | prominence_ref = | range = Lewis Range | location = Flathead County, Montana, U.S. | map = Montana#USA | relief = 1 | map_caption = Location in Montana##Location in the United States | coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo = USGS Mount Stimson | type = | age = | first_ascent = J. Gordon Edwards and Alice Edwards (1951) and likely earlier | easiest_route = Hike/scramble (Class 3/4) Mount Stimson (10147 ft) is the second highest peak in Glacier National Park, located in Montana, United States. It is part of the Lewis Range, which spans much of the park. It is located in the remote southwestern portion of the park, approximately 5 mi west of the Continental Divide and 12 mi southeast of Lake McDonald. It is drained by Pinchot Creek (on the south) and Nyack Creek (on the other sides), both of which flow into the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. The mountain is named for Henry L. Stimson (1867–1950), former U.S. Secretary of State and twice Secretary of War, who hiked and assisted George Bird Grinnell 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 6200 ft from Nyack Creek in only 1.8 mi. 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. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Aerial_view_of_Mount_Stimson.jpg" caption="Aerial view of Mount Stimson's north aspect"] ::

Climate

|location = Mount Stimson 48.5156 N, 113.6078 W, Elevation: 9098 ft (1991–2020 normals) |single line = y

|Jan high F = 22.6 |Feb high F = 22.2 |Mar high F = 26.1 |Apr high F = 31.1 |May high F = 40.5 |Jun high F = 48.5 |Jul high F = 59.5 |Aug high F = 60.0 |Sep high F = 51.7 |Oct high F = 38.4 |Nov high F = 26.4 |Dec high F = 21.3

|Jan mean F = 16.1 |Feb mean F = 14.4 |Mar mean F = 17.2 |Apr mean F = 21.6 |May mean F = 30.2 |Jun mean F = 37.4 |Jul mean F = 46.7 |Aug mean F = 47.3 |Sep mean F = 39.4 |Oct mean F = 28.9 |Nov mean F = 20.1 |Dec mean F = 15.2

|Jan low F = 9.6 |Feb low F = 6.6 |Mar low F = 8.3 |Apr low F = 12.1 |May low F = 19.9 |Jun low F = 26.3 |Jul low F = 33.9 |Aug low F = 34.7 |Sep low F = 27.1 |Oct low F = 19.5 |Nov low F = 13.7 |Dec low F = 9.0

|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 9.71 |Feb precipitation inch = 8.34 |Mar precipitation inch = 8.67 |Apr precipitation inch = 7.20 |May precipitation inch = 7.18 |Jun precipitation inch = 8.21 |Jul precipitation inch = 2.83 |Aug precipitation inch = 2.99 |Sep precipitation inch = 4.72 |Oct precipitation inch = 6.98 |Nov precipitation inch = 10.45 |Dec precipitation inch = 9.92

|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web |url= http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |access-date= October 4, 2023 |quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.}}

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 bears 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. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Mount_Stimson,_southwest_aspect.jpg" caption="Mount Stimson, southwest aspect, from Stanton Lake"] ::

References

References

1. {{cite peakbagger
2. {{cite gnis
3. "Mount Stimson, MT". TopoQwest (United States Geological Survey Maps).
4. Edwards, J. Gordon. (1995). "A Climbers Guide to Glacier National Park". Falcon.
5. "Mount Stimson". SummitPost.
6. (2010). "Glacier NP Backcountry Guide Summer 2010". National Park Service.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::