Columbia Peak is a 7,172-foot mountain in Washington’s North Cascades, in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness of Snohomish County, where it rises with nearby peaks around a basin containing Columbia Glacier and Blanca Lake. Its rugged form reflects the broader history of the range: tectonic and volcanic activity, including the accretion of terranes about 50 million years ago, followed by repeated Pleistocene glaciation. Uplift, faulting, and glacial erosion created the steep slopes, jagged ridges, and basins visible there today. In the marine west coast climate, heavy Pacific precipitation brings snowy, avalanche-prone winters, while the clearest viewing and climbing conditions usually come from July through September.