Mount Crillon | |
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 12,726 ft (3,879 m) [1] |
Prominence | 7,214 ft (2,199 m) [1] |
Listing | |
Coordinates | 58°39′46″N137°10′19″W / 58.66278°N 137.17194°W [1] |
Geography | |
Interactive map of Mount Crillon | |
Location | Glacier Bay National Park, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, U.S. |
Parent range | Fairweather Range, Saint Elias Mountains |
Topo map | USGS Mount Fairweather C-4 Quadrangle |
Climbing | |
First ascent | 1934 by Bradford Washburn, H. Adams Carter |
Easiest route | West ridge: glacier/snow/ice/rock climb (Alaska Grade 4) |
Mount Crillon is a high peak of the Fairweather Range, the southernmost part of the Saint Elias Mountains. It lies southeast of Mount Fairweather, in the promontory between the Gulf of Alaska and Glacier Bay. It is included in Glacier Bay National Park. The peak was named after Felix-Francois-Dorothee de Bretton, Comte de Crillon, by his friend, the French explorer Jean Francois de Galaup de la Perouse.
Mount Crillon lies about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Mount Fairweather. It is near the southern end of the Fairweather Range, with only one 10,000 foot (3,050m) peak, Mount La Perouse, lying south of it. It is 10 miles (16 km) due east of the head of Lituya Bay, a small inlet of the Gulf of Alaska, which is itself part of the Pacific Ocean. The North and South Crillon Glaciers flow west from the peak toward Lituya Bay. The La Perouse Glacier flows south from the peak. The north side of the peak forms the head of the southern branch of the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which empties into Johns Hopkins Inlet, off of Glacier Bay. To the east of the peak lies the large icefield which forms the head of the Brady Glacier, the southernmost of the large glaciers of the Saint Elias Mountains.
Mount Crillon drops 9,000 feet (2,700 m) in less than 4 mi (6.4 km) on both its north and west faces. Due to its proximity to the ocean, it is often subject to harsh weather.
Mount Crillon is not climbed frequently, since it is an extremely challenging climb for its elevation due to its isolation. The first ascent was in 1934, by explorer Bradford Washburn on his third attempt, [2] and longtime editor of the American Alpine Journal H. Adams Carter. They climbed via the East Ridge above the Plateau, reaching the summit on 19 July 1934. [3]
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Crillon has a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. [4] Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation runoff and meltwater from its glaciers drains into Glacier Bay and the Gulf of Alaska.
Mount Fairweather is 20 km (12 mi) east of the Pacific Ocean on the Canada–United States border between Alaska and western British Columbia and has an elevation of 4,653 metres (15,266 ft). Most of the mountain lies within Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in the City and Borough of Yakutat, Alaska, though the summit borders Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, British Columbia. Tsalxaan is officially gazetted as Fairweather Mountain in Canada but referred to as Mount Fairweather, and is the highest mountain in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is also designated as Boundary Peak 164 or as US/Canada Boundary Point #164.
Mount Hayes is the highest mountain in the eastern Alaska Range, in the U.S. state of Alaska. Despite not being a fourteener, it is one of the largest peaks in the United States in terms of rise above local terrain. For example, the Northeast Face rises 8,000 feet (2,440 m) in approximately 2 miles (3.2 km). This large vertical relief contributes to Mount Hayes being the 51st most topographically prominent peak in the world.
Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. 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 death served as its Honorary Director. Bradford married Barbara Polk in 1940, they honeymooned in Alaska making the first ascent of Mount Bertha together.
Mount Wilbur is a high peak of the Fairweather Range, the southernmost part of the Saint Elias Mountains. It lies approximately 14 miles (22 km) southeast of Mount Fairweather and 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Mount Crillon. It is included in Glacier Bay National Park. The peak is the higher of a pair of peaks, Mounts Wilbur and Orville, named after the Wright Brothers.
Mount Salisbury is a peak in the Fairweather Range of Alaska, 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Mount Fairweather. Its east slopes feed one of the northern branches of the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which flows into Glacier Bay. On its western side is a large cirque, shared with Mount Fairweather, Mount Quincy Adams, and Lituya Mountain, which heads the Fairweather Glacier; this flows almost to the Pacific coast at Cape Fairweather.
Lituya Mountain is a peak in the Fairweather Range of Alaska, United States, south of Mount Fairweather. Its eastern slopes feed a branch of the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which flows into Glacier Bay. On its western side is a large cirque, shared with Mount Fairweather, Mount Quincy Adams, and Mount Salisbury, which heads the Fairweather Glacier; this flows almost to the Pacific coast at Cape Fairweather. The Lituya Glacier flows from the south side of the mountain into Lituya Bay on the Pacific coast.
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 situated in Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park while the southernmost section resides in Glacier Bay National Park, in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area. In between it goes through the southeastern corner of Yakutat Borough. Peaks of this range include Mount Fairweather and Mount Quincy Adams 4,150 m (13,615 ft).
Mount Orville is a high peak of the Fairweather Range, the southernmost part of the Saint Elias Mountains. It is included in Glacier Bay National Park. The peak is the lower of a pair of peaks, Mounts Wilbur and Orville, named after the Wright Brothers. The mountain's name was proposed to the National Park Service by Senator Ernest Gruening in 1961 to honor Orville Wright (1871–1948) who, with his brother Wilbur, invented the airplane, a form of transportation which contributed to the development of Alaska. The toponym was officially adopted in 1962 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
Mount Foresta is an 11,000+ ft multi-peak massif located in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park, in the Saint Elias Mountains of Alaska in the United States. Rising high above the lower western margin of the Hubbard Glacier, the summit of Mount Foresta is just over nine miles (14 km) from tidewater at Disenchantment Bay, 12 mi (19 km) northwest of Mount Seattle, 14.5 mi (23 km) southeast of Mount Vancouver, and 46 mi (74 km) north of Yakutat.
Mount Abbe is an 8200+ feet double summit mountain located in the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains, in southeast Alaska. The peak is situated near the terminus of the Johns Hopkins Glacier, within Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, 100 mi (161 km) northwest of Juneau, and 8.2 mi (13 km) northeast of Mount Orville. Although modest in elevation, relief is significant since the mountain rises up from tidewater in less than two miles. Mount Abbe is often seen and photographed with the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which is a popular destination for cruise ships. The mountain was named in 1936 by William Osgood Field and William Skinner Cooper, of the American Geographical Society, for Cleveland Abbe Jr., (1872-1934), an American geographer. Abbe received a Ph.D. in 1898 from Johns Hopkins University. The Gilman Glacier and Clark Glacier on the mountain's slopes were named for Daniel Coit Gilman, the institution's first president, and William Bullock Clark who was a professor of geology at the university. The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1937 by the United States Geological Survey. The first ascent of the south summit was made June 11, 1977, by Jim Wickwire and Dusan Jagersky via the Southeast Face. Three days later, Dusan Jagersky was killed while descending an unnamed peak. The first ascent of the north summit was made July 14, 1991, by Walter Gove and William Pilling. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for climbing Mount Abbe, but it's a challenging climb in any conditions, with few attempts.
Mount Cooper is a 6780-foot (2067-meter) mountain summit located in the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains, in southeast Alaska. The peak is situated in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve at the entrance to Johns Hopkins Inlet, 100 mi (161 km) northwest of Juneau, and 5.6 mi (9 km) northeast of Mount Abbe, which is the nearest higher peak. Although modest in elevation, relief is significant since the mountain rises up from tidewater in less than two miles. Mount Cooper can be seen from Johns Hopkins Inlet which is a popular destination for cruise ships. The mountain's name was proposed in the 1950s for William Skinner Cooper (1884-1978), a plant ecologist who performed vegetation-glacier relationship studies in the Glacier Bay area, and was chairman of the committee of scientists which proposed establishing Glacier Bay National Monument. The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1980 by the United States Geological Survey following Cooper's death. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for climbing Mount Cooper.
Mount Forde, also known as Boundary Peak 161, is a 6,883-foot (2,098 m) mountain summit located in the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains, on the Canada–United States border between southeast Alaska and British Columbia. The peak is situated on the boundary of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, near the head of Tarr Inlet, 109 mi (175 km) northwest of Juneau, and 4.4 mi (7 km) northeast of Mount Turner, which is the nearest higher peak. Although modest in elevation, relief is significant since the mountain rises up from tidewater in less than four miles.
Mount Turner, also known as Boundary Peak 162, is an 8,661+ foot glaciated mountain summit located in the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains, on the Canada–United States border between southeast Alaska and British Columbia. The peak is situated on the shared boundary of Glacier Bay National Park with Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, 8 mi (13 km) west of Tarr Inlet, and 4.4 mi (7 km) southwest of Mount Forde, which is the nearest peak. Turner is the highest point on the divide which separates Ferris Glacier from Margerie Glacier. The mountain's name was officially adopted by the Geographical Names Board of Canada on March 31, 1924. The mountain was named for George Turner (1850–1932), one of the US members of the 1903 Alaska Boundary Tribunal.
Mount La Perouse is a 10,728-foot glaciated mountain summit located in the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains, in southeast Alaska, United States. The peak is situated in Glacier Bay National Park, 4 mi (6 km) southeast of Mount Dagelet, 7.6 mi (12 km) south-southeast of Mount Crillon which is the nearest higher peak, and 28.6 mi (46 km) southeast of Mount Fairweather, which is the highest peak in the Fairweather Range. Topographic relief is significant as the mountain rises up from tidewater in less than nine miles. The mountain was named in 1874 by William Healey Dall of the U.S. Geological Survey, for Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (1741–1788), a French navigator who explored this coastal area in 1786. The first ascent of the peak was made in 1953 by USGS party consisting of James Seitz, Karl Stauffer, Rowland Tabor, Rolland Reid, and Paul Bowen. On February 16, 2014, a colossal 68 million ton landslide broke free from the flanks of Mt. La Perouse and flowed nearly 4.6 miles from where it originated. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for climbing and viewing.
Mount Bertha is a 10,204-foot (3,110-meter) glaciated mountain summit located in the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains, in southeast Alaska, United States.
Mount Dagelet is a 9,800+ ft glaciated mountain summit located in the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains, in southeast Alaska, United States. The peak is situated in Glacier Bay National Park, 4.6 mi (7 km) south of Mount Crillon, and 4 mi (6 km) northwest of Mount La Perouse, which is the nearest highest peak. Topographic relief is significant as the mountain rises up from tidewater in less than nine miles. The mountain was named in 1874 by William Healey Dall of the U.S. Geological Survey, for Joseph Lepaute Dagelet (1751-1788), a French astronomer and mathematician who accompanied Lapérouse when he explored this coastal area in 1786. The first ascent of the peak was made July 29, 1933, by W. S. Child, C. S. Houston, and H. A. Carter.
Blackthorn Peak, also known as Black Thorn, is a 4,117 foot mountain summit located at the head of Glacier Bay's Geikie Inlet in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, in the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains, in southeast Alaska. The mountain is situated immediately east of Geikie Glacier, 80 mi (129 km) west-northwest of Juneau, and 2.5 mi (4 km) north of Threesome Mountain, which is the nearest higher peak. Although modest in elevation, relief is significant since the mountain rises up from tidewater in a little over two miles. The mountain was given its descriptive name in 1896 by Harry Fielding Reid, an American geophysicist who studied glaciology in Glacier Bay. Weather permitting, Blackthorn Peak can be seen from Glacier Bay, which is a popular destination for cruise ships. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing the peak.
Fifty Years of Alaskan Statehood is an 8,599-foot (2,621 m) mountain summit in the US state of Alaska.
Mount Aleutka is a 5,200-foot (1,585 m) mountain summit in the US state of Alaska.
Mount Sabine is a 10,405-foot (3,171 m) mountain summit in the US state of Alaska.
Bates, Robert. The Love of Mountains is Best: Climbs and Travels From K2 to Kathmandu. Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall Publisher, 1994, 22-39. ISBN 0-914339-50-8