Mount Foresta is an multi-peak

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

located in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park, in the

Saint Elias Mountains The Saint Elias Mountains () 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 spans Wrangell-St. Elias ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

in the United States. Rising high above the lower western margin of the

Hubbard Glacier __NOTOC__ Hubbard Glacier ( Lingít: ''Sít' Tlein'') is a glacier located in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve in eastern Alaska and Kluane National Park and Reserve in Yukon, Canada, and named after Gardiner Hubbard. Geograph ...

, the summit of Mount Foresta is just over from tidewater at

Disenchantment Bay Disenchantment Bay extends southwest for from the mouth of Russell Fiord to Point Latouche, at the head of Yakutat Bay in Alaska. Named "Puerto del Desengano", Spanish for "bay of disenchantment", by Alessandro Malaspina in 1792, upon finding ...

, northwest of Mount Seattle, southeast of

Mount Vancouver Mount Vancouver is the 15th highest mountain in North America. Its southern side lies in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve at the top of the Alaska panhandle, while its northern side is in Kluane National Park and Reserve in the southweste ...

, and north of Yakutat.

History

The mountain was named for Foresta Hodgson Wood (1904–1951), who was responsible for the logistics planning of the ''Project Snow Cornice'' of the

Arctic Institute of North America The Arctic Institute of North America is a multi-disciplinary research institute and educational organization located in the University of Calgary. It is mandated to study the North American and circumpolar Arctic in the areas of natural science ...

. Foresta, with her daughter Valerie F. Wood (1933–1951), were killed in an airplane crash in the vicinity of this mountain on July 27, 1951, during this scientific expedition. The Valerie Glacier flows along the southwest aspect of Mount Foresta. The toponyms were proposed in 1957 by the Arctic Institute of North America and officially adopted in 1960 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

of Mount Foresta was made on July 24, 1979, by

Fred Beckey Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey (14 January 1923 – 30 October 2017), known as Fred Beckey, was an American rock climber, mountaineer and book author, who in seven decades of climbing achieved hundreds of first ascents of some of the tallest peaks and ...

, Rick Nolting, John Rupley, and Craig Tillery.''Mount Foresta'', American Alpine Journal, 1980
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Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Mount Foresta is located in a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool summers. Weather systems coming off the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska ( Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the ...

are forced upwards by the Saint Elias Mountains (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for viewing and climbing.

Gallery

File:Mount Foresta from Disenchantment Bay.jpg, Mount Foresta seen from Disenchantment Bay with Hubbard Glacier File:Mt. Foresta, Hubbard Glacier, Mt. Seattle.jpg, Mt. Foresta (left), Hubbard Glacier, Mt. Seattle (right) File:Mt Foresta.jpg, South aspect

References

External links

* Mount Foresta photo
Flickr
* Account of the first ascent
American Alpine Journal
* Weather forecast
Mount Foresta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foresta, Mount Three-thousanders of the United States Mountains of Alaska Saint Elias Mountains Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve

History

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links