Slesse Mountain
Encyclopedia
Slesse Mountain, usually referred to as Mount Slesse, is a mountain
just north of the US
-Canada
border, in the Cascade Mountains
of British Columbia
, near the town of Chilliwack
. It is notable for its large, steep local relief. For example, its west face drops over 1950 m (6,398 ft) to Slesse Creek
in less than 3 km (2 mi). It is also famous for its huge Northeast Buttress; see the climbing notes below. The name means "fang" in the Halkomelem language. Notable nearby mountains include Mount Rexford and Canadian Border Peak
in British Columbia, and American Border Peak
, Mount Shuksan
, and Mount Baker
, all in the US
state of Washington.
, which intruded the region 26 to 29 million years ago after the major orogenic
episodes in the region. This is part of the Pemberton Volcanic Belt
, an eroded volcanic belt
that formed as a result of subduction
of the Farallon Plate
starting 29 million years ago. The primary rock comprising Slesse is grey diorite from the Batholith. However the summit ridge and the west face are composed of Darrington
Phyllite
, a metamorphic rock
, produced by contact metamorphism with the rock of the Batholith and with an intrusion of granodiorite
.
and some sections of technical rock climbing
up to class 5.6
. However Slesse is most famous for the Northeast Buttress, first climbed on August 28, 1963 by Fred Beckey
, Steve Marts, and Eric Bjornstad. It is a serious multi-day rock climb (Grade V
) with technical difficulty of class 5.8 or 5.9
. This climb is featured in Roper and Steck's Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
.
On December 9, 1956, Trans Canada Airlines Flight 810
, a North Star airplane crashed on the upper slopes of the mountain, killing all 62 people aboard. This was one of the world's worst air disasters up to that time. Prominent among the dead were team members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
and Saskatchewan Roughriders
, on their way home from a game in Vancouver. A memorial to the dead can be found on a spur road just above the Chilliwack River Road. The site itself was supposed to have been consecrated by the Cemeteries Act after the discovery of the crash site and associated human remains, some of which were gathered into a common grave, others found by climbers and hikers have been placed in a "shrine" out of the weather in a discreet location. In the 1990s the provincial government, under pressure from the Families of Slesse organization, finally passed legislation to enshrine protection of the site, which was under threat from clearcut logging at the time, and markers have been placed on trails leading into the site requesting it be respected by hikers and others accessing it.
Mountain
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just north of the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-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...
border, in the Cascade Mountains
North Cascades
The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in Canada as the Cascade Mountains...
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...
, near the town of Chilliwack
Chilliwack, British Columbia
Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 80,000 people. Chilliwack is the second largest city in the Fraser Valley Regional District after Abbotsford. The city is surrounded by mountains and...
. It is notable for its large, steep local relief. For example, its west face drops over 1950 m (6,398 ft) to Slesse Creek
Slesse Creek
Slesse Creek is a creek in Whatcom County, Washington and British Columbia. It is a tributary of the Chilliwack River and is known as Silesia Creek south of the border and Slesse Creek north of it.-East Fork:...
in less than 3 km (2 mi). It is also famous for its huge Northeast Buttress; see the climbing notes below. The name means "fang" in the Halkomelem language. Notable nearby mountains include Mount Rexford and Canadian Border Peak
Canadian Border Peak
Canadian Border Peak, , originally known simply as Border Peak, is a mountain at the head of Slesse Creek in the Cascade Mountains of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. As its name suggests, it is near the United States-Canada border and is connected via a high ridge or col to...
in British Columbia, and American Border Peak
American Border Peak
American Border Peak is a mountain just south of the US-Canada border, in the North Cascades of Washington state, with a corresponding sister peak, Canadian Border Peak, just north along a col connecting to it across the border. It is located within the Mount Baker Wilderness, part of the Mount...
, Mount Shuksan
Mount Shuksan
Mount Shuksan is a glaciated massif in the North Cascades National Park. Shuksan rises in Whatcom County, Washington immediately to the east of Mount Baker, and south of the Canadian border. The mountain's name Shuksan is derived from the Lummi word [šéqsən], said to mean "high peak". The highest...
, and Mount Baker
Mount Baker
Mount Baker , also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is an active glaciated andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States. It is the second-most active volcano in the range after Mount Saint Helens...
, all in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Washington.
Geology
Most of Mount Slesse is made up of granitic rocks related to the Chilliwack batholithChilliwack batholith
The Chilliwack batholith is a large batholith that forms much of the North Cascades in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Pemberton Volcanic Belt and is the largest mass of exposed intrusive rock in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. The age of the...
, which intruded the region 26 to 29 million years ago after the major orogenic
Orogeny
Orogeny refers to forces and events leading to a severe structural deformation of the Earth's crust due to the engagement of tectonic plates. Response to such engagement results in the formation of long tracts of highly deformed rock called orogens or orogenic belts...
episodes in the region. This is part of the Pemberton Volcanic Belt
Pemberton Volcanic Belt
The Pemberton Volcanic Belt is an eroded Oligocene volcanic belt at a low angle near Mount Meager, British Columbia, Canada. The Garibaldi and Pemberton volcanic belts appear to merge into a single belt, although the Pemberton is older than the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt...
, an eroded volcanic belt
Volcanic belt
A volcanic belt is a large volcanically active region. Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity, such as volcanic fields. Volcanic belts are found above zones of unusually high temperature where magma is created by partial melting of solid material in the Earth's crust and upper mantle....
that formed as a result of subduction
Subduction
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge. These 3D regions of mantle downwellings are known as "Subduction Zones"...
of the Farallon Plate
Farallon Plate
The Farallon Plate was an ancient oceanic plate, which began subducting under the west coast of the North American Plate— then located in modern Utah— as Pangaea broke apart during the Jurassic Period...
starting 29 million years ago. The primary rock comprising Slesse is grey diorite from the Batholith. However the summit ridge and the west face are composed of Darrington
Darrington, Washington
Darrington is a town in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,347 at the 2010 census.-History:The upper Stillaguamish valley where Darrington is located was once settled by the local Sauk-Suiattle Tribes in the drainage of the Sauk, Suiattle and Whitechuck rivers...
Phyllite
Phyllite
Phyllite is a type of foliated metamorphic rock primarily composed of quartz, sericite mica, and chlorite; the rock represents a gradation in the degree of metamorphism between slate and mica schist. Minute crystals of graphite, sericite, or chlorite impart a silky, sometimes golden sheen to the...
, a metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
, produced by contact metamorphism with the rock of the Batholith and with an intrusion of granodiorite
Granodiorite
Granodiorite is an intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase than orthoclase-type feldspar. Officially, it is defined as a phaneritic igneous rock with greater than 20% quartz by volume where at least 65% of the feldspar is plagioclase. It usually contains abundant...
.
History
Mount Slesse was first climbed on August 10, 1927, by Stan Henderson, Mills Winram, and Fred Parkes, via a route starting from Slesse Creek. The standard route today is the Southwest Route, which involves approximately 1650 m (5,413 ft) of ascent, a good deal of scramblingScrambling
Scrambling is a method of ascending rocky faces and ridges. It is an ambiguous term that lies somewhere between hillwalking and rock climbing. It is often distinguished from hillwalking by defining a scramble as a route where hands must be used in the ascent...
and some sections of technical rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
up to class 5.6
Grade (climbing)
In rock climbing, mountaineering and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a climbing grade to a route that concisely describes the difficulty and danger of climbing the route...
. However Slesse is most famous for the Northeast Buttress, first climbed on August 28, 1963 by Fred Beckey
Fred Beckey
Fred Beckey is an American mountaineer and author, who has made hundreds of first ascents, more than any other North American climber.-Early years:...
, Steve Marts, and Eric Bjornstad. It is a serious multi-day rock climb (Grade V
Grade (climbing)
In rock climbing, mountaineering and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a climbing grade to a route that concisely describes the difficulty and danger of climbing the route...
) with technical difficulty of class 5.8 or 5.9
Grade (climbing)
In rock climbing, mountaineering and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a climbing grade to a route that concisely describes the difficulty and danger of climbing the route...
. This climb is featured in Roper and Steck's Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
Fifty Classic Climbs Of North America is a climbing guidebook and history written by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. It is considered a definitive piece of climbing literature, known to many climbers as simply "The Book", and has served as an inspiration for more recent climbing books, such as Mark...
.
On December 9, 1956, Trans Canada Airlines Flight 810
Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810
Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 was a Canadair North Star on a scheduled flight from Vancouver to Calgary . The plane crashed into Mount Slesse near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, on 9 December 1956 after encountering severe icing and turbulence over the mountains...
, a North Star airplane crashed on the upper slopes of the mountain, killing all 62 people aboard. This was one of the world's worst air disasters up to that time. Prominent among the dead were team members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
and Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...
, on their way home from a game in Vancouver. A memorial to the dead can be found on a spur road just above the Chilliwack River Road. The site itself was supposed to have been consecrated by the Cemeteries Act after the discovery of the crash site and associated human remains, some of which were gathered into a common grave, others found by climbers and hikers have been placed in a "shrine" out of the weather in a discreet location. In the 1990s the provincial government, under pressure from the Families of Slesse organization, finally passed legislation to enshrine protection of the site, which was under threat from clearcut logging at the time, and markers have been placed on trails leading into the site requesting it be respected by hikers and others accessing it.
Further reading
- Steve Roper and Allen Steck, Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, Sierra Club Books, 1996, ISBN 0-87156-884-5.