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British Columbia - Fairweather Mountain
The highest mountain in British Columbia
is Fairweather Mountain (4,663 metres) located at the southern
end of the St. Elias Mountains, along the coast of the northern
Alaska Panhandle. Fairweather straddles the international boundary
between Canada/British Columbia and the United States/Alaska.
The mountain was named in 1778 by Captain James Cook, apparently
for the good weather encountered at the time.
Fairweather
Mountain
4,663 metres
15,388 feet |
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· Approach is from the Grand Plateau Glacier |
| History |
The mountain was named in 1778 by Captain James Cook, apparently
for the good weather encountered at the time.
First
ascent credited to Allen Carpé and Terris Moore
8 June 1931. Second ascent 26 June 1958, by an all-Canadian
climbing party, to mark the centennial of the Crown Colony
of British Columbia.
Fairweather Mountain, towering just fourteen miles from
the Pacific Ocean, is the dominant peak in the Fairweather
Range. The Fairweather Range is located at the southern
end of the St. Elias Mountains, along the coast of the
northern Alaska Panhandle. Bordered on the west by the
spectacular Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers, and on the
north by Glacier Bay, it is quite awesome for its vertical
relief and incredible snow pack. The mountains rise almost
three vertical miles directly out of the sea, with the
15,300 foot summit of Mount Fairweather only 24 miles
from the coast. It is a broad mountain with a sharp icy
summit, and contrary to the implications of its name,
is subject to some of the world's worst weather. Its huge
Fairweather Glacier flows beautifully from the mountain's
southern flanks to the sea.
The best time to climb here is May through early July.
The weather follows a maritime pattern, resulting in a
healthy snow pack and warmer than average winter and early
spring temperatures. Summer temps average 42 to 62 degrees,
but tends to get stormy, and the wind and snow on the
high peaks can be deadly. Its extreme relief and large
annual snowfall makes it very glaciated and beautiful.
The south face’s 10,000+ ft. relief is bisected
by the Carpe' Ridge which is featured in Steve Roper's
"50 Classic Climbs of North America".
We will fly into 8,000 ft above sea level on the Grand
Plateau Glacier and spend a couple of days acclimatizing
before moving up.
As an additional note it must be mentioned that while
the majority of the mass of the peak resides within the
state of Alaska, the summit itself belongs to British
Columbia in Canada. The highest mountain entirely within
British Columbia is Mount Waddington (4,016 metres) in
the Coast Mountains. It was named in 1918 by the Geographic
Board of Canada for Alfred Waddington who, from 1858 to
1872, encouraged the creation of a transcontinental route
to the Pacific via Bute Inlet, the head of which is 60
kilometers south of the mountain.
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| Routes |
Go to Whitehorse then to Silver City on Kluane Lake north
of Haines Junction.
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Fly onto Grand
Plateau Glacier at 8,000 feet. |
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Ski ascent from
3,000 feet on the north side of the mountain up
the Grand Plateau Glacier and the northwest ridge. |
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