View source for Mount Steele

{{Short description|Mountain in Yukon, Canada}}
{{For|another mountain|Mount Steele (Antarctica)}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Mount Steele
| photo = Mount Steele.jpg
| photo_caption = 
| elevation_m   = 5073
| elevation_ref = <ref name=bivouac>{{cite bivouac|id=18|title=Mount Steele|access-date=2004-10-04}}</ref><ref name=otm>{{cite opentopomap|Mount Steele|61.0932017|-140.3107453|2022-07-17}}</ref>
| prominence_m  = 813
| prominence_ref= <ref name=bivouac/>
| range = [[Saint Elias Mountains]]
| parent_peak = [[Mount Lucania]]
| listing = {{unbulleted list
|[[List of the highest major summits of North America|North America highest peaks]] 11th
|[[List of highest mountain peaks of Canada|Canada highest major peaks]] 5th
}}
| location = [[Yukon]], Canada
| map = Canada Yukon
| map_caption = Location in Yukon
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 8
| mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Mount Steele
| coordinates   = {{coord|61|05|36|N|140|18|39|W|type:mountain_region:CA-YK_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref = <ref name=cgndb>{{cite cgndb|id=KAGGK|name=Mount Steele|access-date=2022-07-17}}</ref>
| topo_map = [[National Topographic System|NTS]] {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|115|F|1}}<ref name=cgndb/>
| first_ascent = 1935 by Walter Wood &amp; party<ref name=bivouac/>
| easiest_route = glacier/snow/ice climb
}}
[[File:Mt Seele St Elias Mountains Sunrise.jpg|thumb|251x251px|Mt Seele and the St Elias Mountains at sunrise]]
'''Mount Steele''' is the fifth-highest [[mountain]] in [[Canada]] and either the tenth- or eleventh-highest peak in [[North America]]. Its exact elevation is uncertain. Commonly-quoted figures are {{convert|5073|m|ft|0}} and {{Convert|5020|m|ft|round=10}}. A lower southeast peak of Mt. Steele stands at {{convert|4300|m|ft|abbr=on|round=50}}.

It was named after Sir [[Sam Steele]], the [[North-West Mounted Police]] officer in charge of the force in the [[Yukon]] during the [[Klondike Gold Rush]].<ref name=bivouac/>

== Elevation ==
Mount Steele's exact elevation is uncertain. Until the 1960s, Canadian topographical maps showed an elevation of {{convert|5073|m|ft|0}},<ref>1:250,000 Sheet 115G & 115F, "Kluane Lake", Department of Mines and Technical Surveys (Canada), 1961</ref> which was determined in 1913 by [[International Boundary Commission]] surveyors.<ref>{{Cite book|last=International Boundary Commission|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WsCFAAAAMAAJ|title=Joint Report Upon the Survey and Demarcation of the International Boundary Between the United States and Canada Along the 141st Meridian from the Arctic Ocean to Mount St. Elias|date=1918|publisher=|pages=157|language=en}}</ref> However, this height was never tied to the sea-level datum established by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wallis|first=Roger|date=1992|title=The St. Elias Mountains|journal=Canadian Alpine Journal|volume=75|pages=4}}</ref> More recent Canadian topographical maps no longer show a spot height, and their contour lines indicate a summit elevation of 5,020{{+-}}20 metres (about 16,470{{+-}}60 ft).<ref>1:50,000 Sheet 115F/1, "Mount Steele", Department of Energy, Mines and Resources (Canada), 1987</ref> The older figure continues to be quoted by other sources.<ref name="bivouac" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mount Steele - Peakbagger.com|url=https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=513|access-date=2021-10-28|website=www.peakbagger.com}}</ref>

== First ascent in 1935 ==
Walter A. Wood led a team consisting of Foresta Wood (Walter's wife), Swiss guide Hans Fuhrer, Joseph W. Fobes, Harrison Wood and I. Pearce Hazard. The expedition approached the peak on the eastern side from [[Kluane Lake]]. Base camp was established at the foot of the Steele Glacier with horses carrying loads to Advance Base Camp (known as Camp 6) further along the glacier. ABC provided good views of the mountain and the team decided on the east ridge as their line of ascent.<ref name=Scott/>

After waiting for the weather to improve after heavy snowfalls, a four-man team consisting of Walter Wood, Harrison Wood, Fuhrer and Forbes left Camp 8 at the base of the ridge. Their plan to was to make a {{convert|2440|m|ft|adj=mid}} push to the summit. After steady upwards progress, deteriorating weather forced them to return to Camp 8 where they waited out a five-day storm which dumped over a metre of fresh snow. They started out again on August 15 and the ascent was made easier this time by windblown and hard steep snow slopes rather than steep soft snow on their earlier attempt. At {{convert|4570|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}}, a plateau of wretched snow forced the team to crawl on all fours. Walter Wood commented:<ref name=Scott/>
{{quote|The humour of it impressed me. Here were four supposedly normal human beings crawling across a snow field 15,000 ft. up in the air, engaged in what they fondly believed to be a sporting venue.}}

Alternating the lead every 100 paces, they made their way from the plateau to the top, finally reaching the summit at 2:30&nbsp;pm. The team enjoyed a blissful thirty minutes of windless conditions on top before beginning their descent.<ref name=Scott/>

== Avalanche and landslides ==
On 22 July 2007 at approximately 13:25 [[Pacific Time|Pacific Daylight Time]], a massive [[avalanche]] took place on Mount Steele when a slab of ice with a volume of about {{convert|3,000,000|m3|cuyd|sigfig=2}} broke loose from its north face. The slab broke up as it fell down the side of the mountain, developing into an avalanche that crossed [[Steele Glacier]], overtopped a {{convert|275|m|ft|0|adj=on}} ridge, and continued onto [[Hodgson Glacier]], where it finally came to rest after traveling a total horizontal distance of {{convert|8|km|mi}}.<ref name=liposvkynov2008>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225826445  | author1 = Lipovsky, Panya S.|display-authors=etal | title = The July 2007 rock and ice avalanches at Mount Steele, St. Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada | website = researchgate.net | date = November 2008 |access-date = 18 June 2020}}</ref> The avalanche covered about {{convert|2|km2|sqmi|1}} of the surface of Steele Glacier.<ref name=liposvkynov2008/> The avalanche registered as a 2.1-magnitude seismic event.<ref name=liposvkynov2008/>

At 17:57 Pacific Daylight Time on 24 July 2007 – only two days after the avalanche — a massive [[landslide]] occurred on the north face of Mount Steele<ref name=liposvkynov2008/> when a {{convert|400|m|ft|0|adj=mid|-wide}} section of ice and rock fell.<ref name=cbc_2007>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/monumental-landslide-shakes-yukon-s-mount-steele-1.661307 | title = Monumental landslide shakes Yukon's Mount Steele | publisher = CBC News | date = August 6, 2007 | access-date = 18 June 2020}}</ref> With a volume estimated at between {{convert|27,500,000|and|80,500,000|m3|cuyd|sigfig=2}}, it lasted about 100 seconds and reached a maximum speed of at least {{convert|252|kph|mph|0}}.<ref name=whitehorse20070807>{{cite web | url=https://www.whitehorsestar.com/News/mount-steele-slide-called-massive | author=Anonymous | title = Mount Steele slide called massive | publisher = Whitehorse Star | date = August 7, 2007 | access-date = 18 June 2020}}</ref> Falling {{convert|2,500|m|ft|0}} down the side of the mountain, the landslide traveled across the {{convert|1.5|km|mi|1|adj=mid|-wide}} Steele Glacier, and reached the top of a {{convert|275|m|ft|0|adj=on}} ridge on the opposite side of the glacier, where it came to a stop before sliding back down onto Steele Glacier.<ref name=liposvkynov2008/> It traveled a total horizontal distance of {{convert|5.76|km|mi|2}}.<ref name=liposvkynov2008/> It was immediately recognized as one of the largest landslides in Yukon Territory history, if not the largest,<ref name=whitehorse20070807/> and is one of the largest in the recorded history of western Canada.<ref name=cbc_2015>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mount-steele-landslide-2015-1.3284918 | author = McColl, Karen | title = Mount Steele landslide 1 of the 10 largest of the year: researcher | website = cbc.ca | date = 24 October 2015 | access-date = 18 June 2020}}</ref>

On 11 October 2015, {{convert|45,000,000|MT|LT ST|sigfig=2}} of rock, snow, and ice with a volume of about {{convert|20,000,000|m3|cuyd|sigfig=2}} slid {{convert|1|km|mi|1}} down the side of Mount Steele and {{convert|2|km|mi|1}} across the surface of [[Steele Glacier]]. It was one of the ten largest landslides of the year worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2015/10/20/mount-steele-rock-avalanche-2/ | author =Petley, Dave | title = The Mount Steele rock avalanche: more details from the seismic data | website = agu.org | date = 20 October 2015 | access-date = 18 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mount-steele-landslide-2015-1.3284918 |author= McColl, Karen | title = Mount Steele landslide 1 of the 10 largest of the year: researcher | website = cbc.ca | date = 24 October 2015 |access-date = 18 June 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|North America|Canada|Mountains}}
*[[List of mountain peaks of North America]]
**[[Mountain peaks of Canada]]
{{clear}}

==References==
<references>
<ref name=Scott>
  {{cite book
   | title = Pushing the Limits: The Story of Canadian Mountaineering
   | author = Scott, Chic | date = May 2002
   | page = [https://archive.org/details/pushinglimitssto0000scot/page/132 132]
   | publisher = [[Rocky Mountain Books]]  | location = Calgary, AB, Canada
   | url = https://archive.org/details/pushinglimitssto0000scot/page/132
   | isbn = 0-921102-59-3  | url-access = registration}}</ref>
</references>

==External links==
{{sister project links}}

{{NA highest}}
{{Yukon}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Mount}}
[[Category:Five-thousanders of Yukon]]
[[Category:Saint Elias Mountains]]