Mount Colonel Foster
Encyclopedia
Mount Colonel Foster is a mountain
located on Vancouver Island
in Strathcona Regional District
, British Columbia
, Canada
. At 2135 m (7,005 ft), it is the fourth highest peak on the island.
Mount Colonel Foster is located across the Elk River from Elkhorn Mountain
. The east face is a 1000 m (3,281 ft) wall.
who was war veteran, a provincial government official, an avid mountaineer and an anti-union business leader. It was during the 1912 Alpine Club of Canada
ascent of Elkhorn Mountain, which was led by Edward Wheeler, that a jagged peak at the head of the Elk River Valley was noticed and named after Foster.
On June 23, 1946, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake
centred to the east of Strathcona Park
, caused a slide which resulted in 1.5 million cubic metres of rock, about half of which found its way to Landslide Lake below. The slide and a huge displacement wave caused devastation in the upper Elk Valley. The damage is clearly visible to this day.
The mountain is regarded as technically difficult and was not climbed until July 1968 by Mike Walsh during a solo attempt. The East Face above Landslide lake has a drop of up to 1300 metres, longer than that of El Capitan in Yosemite, making it one of the tallest continuous mountain faces in the world. While there are numerous rock and winter routes, the mountain is still relatively unknown outside a circle of dedicated climbers. Notable climbs include the first ascent of the East Face by Dick Culbert, Paul Starr and Fred Douglas over the Labour Day weekend 1972, the first solo ascent of the East Face by Joe Bajan in August 1974 when he climbed the Grand Central Couloir and the first winter ascent of the East Face was by Joe Bajan and Ross Nichol in January 1979 when they climbed the Directtisma Route. In January 1985 Doug Scott, Greg Child and Rob Wood made the second winter ascent of the East Face via Bajan's Grand Central Couloir.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
located on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
in Strathcona Regional District
Strathcona Regional District, British Columbia
The Strathcona Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It was created on February 15, 2008, encompassing the northern and western portions of the former Regional District of Comox-Strathcona. The partition left the new Strathcona Regional District with 91.6 percent of...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. At 2135 m (7,005 ft), it is the fourth highest peak on the island.
Mount Colonel Foster is located across the Elk River from Elkhorn Mountain
Elkhorn Mountain
Elkhorn Mountain is a mountain located in the Elk River Mountains of the Vancouver Island Ranges of British Columbia. At , it is the second highest peak on Vancouver Island, second only to the nearby Golden Hinde which lies to the south...
. The east face is a 1000 m (3,281 ft) wall.
History
Mount Colonel Foster is named in honour of Colonel (later Major General) William FosterWilliam Wasbrough Foster
Major-General William Wasbrough Foster DSO CMG VD was a noted mountaineer, Conservative Party politician, business man, and chief constable in British Columbia, Canada in addition to his distinguished military career....
who was war veteran, a provincial government official, an avid mountaineer and an anti-union business leader. It was during the 1912 Alpine Club of Canada
Alpine Club of Canada
The Alpine Club of Canada is a mountain club with a National Office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler, who served as its first president, and Elizabeth Parker, a journalist for...
ascent of Elkhorn Mountain, which was led by Edward Wheeler, that a jagged peak at the head of the Elk River Valley was noticed and named after Foster.
On June 23, 1946, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake
1946 Vancouver Island earthquake
The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake was a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Vancouver Island, on the Coast of British Columbia, Canada, at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, 1946. The main shock epicenter occurred in the Forbidden Plateau area northwest of Courtenay...
centred to the east of Strathcona Park
Strathcona Provincial Park
Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, and the largest on Vancouver Island. Founded in 1911, the park was named for Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, a wealthy philanthropist and railroad pioneer. It lies within the...
, caused a slide which resulted in 1.5 million cubic metres of rock, about half of which found its way to Landslide Lake below. The slide and a huge displacement wave caused devastation in the upper Elk Valley. The damage is clearly visible to this day.
The mountain is regarded as technically difficult and was not climbed until July 1968 by Mike Walsh during a solo attempt. The East Face above Landslide lake has a drop of up to 1300 metres, longer than that of El Capitan in Yosemite, making it one of the tallest continuous mountain faces in the world. While there are numerous rock and winter routes, the mountain is still relatively unknown outside a circle of dedicated climbers. Notable climbs include the first ascent of the East Face by Dick Culbert, Paul Starr and Fred Douglas over the Labour Day weekend 1972, the first solo ascent of the East Face by Joe Bajan in August 1974 when he climbed the Grand Central Couloir and the first winter ascent of the East Face was by Joe Bajan and Ross Nichol in January 1979 when they climbed the Directtisma Route. In January 1985 Doug Scott, Greg Child and Rob Wood made the second winter ascent of the East Face via Bajan's Grand Central Couloir.