East Face of Mt. Constance, Olympic National Park

Is that rotten rock like most peaks in the Cascades?

Oh my! You think the Cascades are rotten? The granite of the Cascades may be rotten in places, but nothing compared to the the Olympics. Rotten being a negative word, we like to say "friable rock formations", or "Portable hand holds", so people don't get a bad impression. Actually both ranges, if you know where to go, have some decent rock climbing. The Olympic Climber's Guide states, "Since the rocks throughout the Olympics are altered sediments such as shales, sandstones, slates and Breccias, they typically offer poor rock climbing. However, the range is ringed with a discontinuous chain of basalt outcrops, which are much sounder." I personally have only been injured once by falling rock in the Olympics, but I have seen close calls where a rock goes whizzing by someone too close for comfort. We mostly alpine climb in the Olympics, (I have had 64 days out so far this year) but even a few of those routes have some interesting class 3 and 4 rock. The new Olympic Climbing Guide (4th Ed.)has a new Alpine Rock Climbing section and another new section called, "Crags and Sport Routes."
http://www.amazon.com/Olympic-Mountains-Climbing-Guide-4th/dp/089886206X...