Beehive Peak

Beehive Peak is a 10740. ft summit located in Madison County, Montana, United States.

Description
Beehive Peak is the second-highest peak in the Spanish Peaks which is a subrange of the Madison Range. It is situated 8 mi north-northwest of Big Sky, Montana, and 25 mi southwest of Bozeman. The peak is set within the Lee Metcalf Wilderness on land managed by Gallatin National Forest. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Gallatin River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2000 ft above South Fork Spanish Creek in one mile (1.6 km).

Climate
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Beehive Peak is located in a subarctic climate zone characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. Winter temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F.

Etymology
This mountain's toponym has not been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, so it is not labelled on USGS maps, and will remain unofficial as long as the USGS policy of not adopting new toponyms in designated wilderness areas remains in effect. The peak is named in association with Beehive Lake and Beehive Basin which are both below the peak, and are both officially named.

Climbing
The first recorded ascent of the summit was made in the early 1950s by Dave Wessel. The summit can be accessed via the southwest couloir following a 5.5-mile hike and 2,842 feet of elevation gain. There is a plaque on the summit which was placed to remember climber Kit Jones who perished climbing here in 1966.