Mount Fairweather (officially gazetted as Fairweather Mountain in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

but referred to as Mount Fairweather), is the highest mountain in the Canadian province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, with an elevation of . It is located east of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

on the border of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and western

. Most of the mountain lies within

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is an American national park located in Southeast Alaska west of Juneau. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the area around Glacier Bay a national monument under the Antiquities Act on February 26, 1925. C ...

in the City and Borough of Yakutat, Alaska (USA), though the summit borders

Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park Tatshenshini-Alsek Park or Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada . It was established in 1993 after an intensive campaign by Canadian and American conservation organizations to halt mining e ...

(Canada). It is also designated as Boundary Peak 164 or as ''US/Canada Boundary Point #164''. The mountain was named on May 3, 1778, by Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

,Terris Moore, "Mount Fairweather, Correction", ''American Alpine Journal'' 1982, p. 139. He cites ''Cook and King Voyage to the Pacific Ocean'', Volume II, Admiralty, London, 1784, p. 345. apparently for the unusually good weather encountered at the time. The name has been translated into many languages. It was called "Mt. Beautemps" by La Perouse (1786, atlas), "Mte. Buen-tiempo" by Galiano (1802, map 3), "Gor Khoroshy-pogody" on Russian Hydrographic Dept. Chart 1378 in 1847, and "G raFayerveder" by Captain Tebenkov (1852, map 7), Imperial Russian Navy. It was called "Schönwetterberg" by

Constantin Grewingk Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konstant ...

in 1850 and "Schönwetter Berg" by

Justus Perthes Johann Georg Justus Perthes (11 September 1749, Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt – 2 May 1816, Gotha, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg) was a German publisher and founder of the publishing house that bears his name. Life He was born in the Thuringian to ...

in 1882. Fairweather was first climbed in 1931 by Allen Carpé and

Terris Moore Terris Moore (April 11, 1908 – November 7, 1993) was an explorer, mountaineer, light plane pilot, and the second president of the University of Alaska. Early years and education Moore attended schools in Haddonfield, Philadelphia and New York ...

Geography

Mount Fairweather is located right above

Glacier Bay Glacier Bay Basin in southeastern Alaska, in the United States, encompasses the Glacier Bay and surrounding mountains and glaciers, which was first proclaimed a U.S. National Monument on February 25, 1925, and which was later, on December 2, 1980 ...

in the

Fairweather Range The Fairweather Range is the unofficial name for a mountain range located in the U.S. state of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the southernmost range of the Saint Elias Mountains. The northernmost section of the range is ...

of the

Saint Elias Mountains The Saint Elias Mountains (french: Chaîne Saint-Élie) are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, Southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The range ...

. Mount Fairweather also marks the northwest extremity of the

Alaska Panhandle Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia (and a small part ...

. Like many peaks in the St. Elias Mountains, Mount Fairweather has great vertical relief due to its dramatic rise from Glacier Bay. However, due to poor weather in the area, this effect is usually obscured with the clouds which often hides the summit from view. Known in the

Tlingit language The Tlingit language ( ; ''Lingít'' ) is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada and is a branch of the Na-Dene language family. Extensive effort is being put into revitalization programs in Southeast Alaska to rev ...

as ''Tsalxhaan'', it is said this mountain and ''Yaas'éit'aa Shaa'' ( Mt. St. Elias) were originally next to each other but had an argument and separated. Their children, the mountains in between the two peaks, are called ''Tsalxhaan Yatx'i'' (Children of Tsalxaan.)

Weather

Despite its name, Mount Fairweather has generally harsh weather conditions. It receives over 100 inches (254 cm) of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

each year (mostly snow) and sees temperatures of around .

Climbing history

No documented attempt at climbing the mountain had been successful until 1931. * 1926 Allen Carpe, Andy Taylor and W.S. Ladd reached on the West Ridge, but were forced back due to a steep notch in the ridge that made ferrying supplies very difficult. * 1930

Bradford Washburn Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. (June 7, 1910 – January 10, 2007) was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his ...

also made an attempt on the West Ridge but traveling conditions forced a retreat at . * 1931 Allen Carpe and Terris Moore summited via the ''Southeast Ridge'' on June 8, 1931 * 1958 Paddy Sherman and 7 other Canadians reached the summit via the ''SE Ridge'' on June 26, 1958. * 1968 ''West Ridge'', Loren Adkins, Walter Gove, Paul Myhre, John Neal and Kent Stokes - summit reached June 12, 1968 * 1973 ''Southwest Ridge'', Peter Metcalf, Henry Florschutz, Toby O'Brien and Lincoln Stoller. Summit reached on July 10, 1973.

First Documented Ascent

After failing to reach the summit in 1926 due to terrain difficulty on their chosen route, Allen Carpe, W.S. Ladd, Andy Taylor returned in 1931 along with a new member Terry Moore. In early April the group began their approach by boat but stormy weather delayed them rounding Cape Fairweather until April 17. They reached Lituya Bay and unloaded their supplies on the beach. Backtracking along the coast, they made their way to the Fairweather Glacier. From base camp in a spot they called Paradise Valley, they decided to attempt the mountain from the south rather than via the west ridge. Due to deep snow, they realized that skis and snowshoes would be of great help so Carpe and Moore made the round trip to fetch them from Lituya Bay. They ascended the glacier from base camp and setup camp at on the mountain's south face. On May 25, they established high camp at after making significant progress up a ridge on a rare day of good weather. However, the weather turned and they were forced to descend after an overnight coating of snow. After waiting out the snowstorm for six days at lower camp, they made their way back up to high camp on June 2. They left for the summit at 1:30 am on June 3 and having reached the southeast shoulder by mid-morning, they were feeling so confident that they left the willow wands behind. However, higher altitude and the weeks of hard effort slowed their progress and then the weather changed. By 1 pm not far from the summit, they decided to retreat and had to descend without the wands to guide them. They managed to reach the tents by 4 pm. Ladd and Taylor volunteered to descend due to dwindling supplies at high camp with the hope that Carpe and Moore would be able to make another attempt in good weather. The storm raged for four days before it finally cleared in the evening on June 7. At 10 pm, Carpe and Moore set out for the summit and with no further difficulties made it to the top.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairweather, Mount Landforms of Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska Four-thousanders of British Columbia Mountains of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Saint Elias Mountains Highest points of United States national parks Mountains of Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska Canada–United States border International mountains of North America

Mount Fairweather Mount Fairweather (officially gazetted as Fairweather Mountain in Canada but referred to as Mount Fairweather), is the highest mountain in the Canadian province of British Columbia, with an elevation of . It is located east of the Pacific Ocean ...

Mountains of Unorganized Borough, Alaska Cassiar Land District