Cone Mountain (Washington)

Cone Mountain is located on the border that Okanogan County shares with Whatcom County, and it is part of the Okanagan Range which is a sub-range of the North Cascades. The mountain is situated on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. Cone Mountain is set on the crest of the Cascade Range, so precipitation runoff from the peak drains south into Trout Creek which is a tributary of the Methow River, and north into headwaters of Slate Creek, which is part of the Skagit River drainage basin.^[1] Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,630 feet (802 meters) above South Fork Trout Creek in one mile (1.6 km). The Pacific Crest Trail traverses the slopes of the peak, with an off-trail scramble to reach the summit. The nearest higher neighbor is Syncline Mountain, 1.48 miles (2.38 km) to the west-southwest.^[1] This mountain's toponym has not been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

Weather fronts originating in the Pacific Ocean travel northeast toward the Cascade Mountains. As fronts approach the North Cascades they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the Cascades (orographic lift). As a result, the west side of the North Cascades experiences higher precipitation than the east side, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but, due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer.^[4] The months July through September offer the most favorable weather. However, smoke from distant wildfires may potentially reduce visibility, and smoky summer conditions have been increasing with climate change.^[5]