| Mount Robson | |
|---|---|
| Yexyexéscen (Shuswap) | |
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,954 m (12,972 ft)[1][2][3][4] |
| Prominence | 2,829 m (9,281 ft)[2] |
| Isolation | 460 km (290 mi) |
| Listing | |
| Coordinates | 53°06′38″N119°09′23″W / 53.11056°N 119.15639°W /53.11056; -119.15639[5] |
| Naming | |
| Nickname | Cloud Cap Mountain |
| Native name | Yexyexéscen (Shuswap) |
| English translation | Striped Rock |
| Geography | |
  Mount Robson Location in British Columbia | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| District | Cariboo Land District |
| Parent range | Rainbow Range (Canadian Rockies) |
| Topo map | NTS 83E3 Mount Robson[5] |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | July 31, 1913 byWilliam W. Foster,Albert H. McCarthy andConrad Kain[2][3] |
| Easiest route | South face (UIAA IV) |
Mount Robson is the mostprominent mountain inNorth America'sRocky Mountainrange; it is also the highest point in theCanadian Rockies. The mountain is located entirely withinMount Robson Provincial Park ofBritish Columbia, and is part of theRainbow Range. Mount Robson is the second highest peak entirely in British Columbia, behindMount Waddington in theCoast Range. The south face of Mount Robson is clearly visible from theYellowhead Highway (Highway 16), and is commonly photographed along this route.
Mount Robson was likely named afterColin Robertson, who worked for both theNorth West Company and theHudson's Bay Company at various times in the early 19th century, though there was confusion over the name as many assumed it to have been named forJohn Robson, an early premier of British Columbia. TheTexqa’kallt, aSecwepemc people and the earliest known inhabitants of the area, call itYexyexéscen (striped rock), spelled in Dawson 1891 asYuh-hai-has-kun,The Mountain of the Spiral Road.[6][7]Other unofficial names include Cloud Cap Mountain.[3]
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Mount Robson boasts great vertical relief over the local terrain. FromKinney Lake, the south-west side of the mountain rises 2,975 m (9,760 ft) to the summit. The north face of Mount Robson is heavily glaciated and 800 m (2,600 ft) of ice extends from the summit to the Berg Glacier.
The north face can be seen fromBerg Lake, and reached by a 19 km (12 mi) hike. The lake is approximately 2 km long and lies at 1,646 m (5,400 ft) elevation. There are backcountry campgrounds at each end of the lake and a log shelter on its banks, named Hargreaves Shelter in honor of the Hargreaves family who operated the Mount Robson Ranch across theFraser River from the mountain and who outfitted most of the early trips into Berg Lake. The Berg Glaciercalves directly into the lake. The Robson Glacier, which fills thecirque and valley between Mount Robson andMount Resplendent, in the early 1900s fed directly into both Berg lake andAdolphus Lake, straddling theContinental Divide and draining thus to both the Arctic and Pacific oceans via theSmoky andRobson Rivers, respectively. It since has receded more than 2 kilometres and is the source of theRobson River only. The peak of Mount Robson has atundra climate (ET).[8]
| Climate data for Mount Robson Peak 1981-2010 (53.110 -119.156) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −9.3 (15.3) | −7.8 (18.0) | −6.3 (20.7) | −3.0 (26.6) | −0.5 (31.1) | 3.3 (37.9) | 6.7 (44.1) | 7.1 (44.8) | 7.3 (45.1) | 0.7 (33.3) | −5.8 (21.6) | −7.9 (17.8) | −1.3 (29.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −12.9 (8.8) | −12.2 (10.0) | −10.7 (12.7) | −7.6 (18.3) | −2.1 (28.2) | 1.6 (34.9) | 4.9 (40.8) | 5.1 (41.2) | 2.9 (37.2) | −4.4 (24.1) | −10.7 (12.7) | −12.5 (9.5) | −4.9 (23.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −16.5 (2.3) | −16.7 (1.9) | −15.1 (4.8) | −12.2 (10.0) | −3.6 (25.5) | −0.2 (31.6) | 3.0 (37.4) | 3.2 (37.8) | −1.4 (29.5) | −9.5 (14.9) | −15.6 (3.9) | −17.2 (1.0) | −8.5 (16.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 271 (10.7) | 257 (10.1) | 238 (9.4) | 153 (6.0) | 134 (5.3) | 157 (6.2) | 157 (6.2) | 173 (6.8) | 234 (9.2) | 307 (12.1) | 357 (14.1) | 175 (6.9) | 2,613 (103) |
| Source:http://www.climatewna.com/ClimateBC_Map.aspx | |||||||||||||
In 1893, 5 years after the expedition ofA.P. Coleman toAthabasca Pass and the final settling of the mistaken elevations ofMount Hooker andMount Brown, Mount Robson was first surveyed by James McEvoy and determined to be the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.[9] The first documented ascent of Mount Robson, led by the young guideConrad Kain, at its time the hardest ice face to be climbed on the continent, was achieved during the 1913 annual expedition organized by a large party ofAlpine Club of Canada members who made use of the newly completedGrand Trunk Pacific railway to access the area. Prior to 1913, it had been necessary to approach the mountain by pack train from Edmonton or Laggan via Jasper and Lucerne, so only a few intrepid explorers had made previous attempts at exploring the mountain. The most famous early ascensionist wasGeorge Kinney, a founding member of the Alpine Club, who on his twelfth attempt in August 1909 claimed to have reached the summit with local outfitterDonald "Curly" Phillips. A major controversy over this claim and over the implausible nature of his unlikely and dangerous route dominated the discourse within the Alpine Club elite, and he is now generally presumed to have reached the high summit ridge before being turned back at the final ice dome of the peak.[10]Kinney Lake, below the south face, is named in his honour.
The 1,500 m (4,900 ft) Emperor Face on the northwest side provides the most formidable challenge to elite climbers on the mountain, though the more popular routes are the Kain route and the southeast face. The Kain route follows the first ascent's path up the entire length of theRobson Glacier from its terminus above Robson Pass to the upper northeast face and the summit ridge. Mount Robson has a high failure rate on climbing to the top, with only about 10% of attempts being successful. Although the mountain is under 4,000 m (13,000 ft), there is no easy way to the summit and bad weather commonly rebuffs summit attempts.[2]
The main routes on Mount Robson include:[3]
