Bivouac.com - Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia   Mountain Page   Home . Login -
Mount Sir Alexander  British Columbia . Value: 23
Height: 3275 m (10745 ft) Prominence: 1762 m above Beaverdam Pass
Line Parent: Mount Chown(88 km away, at bearing 133 degrees)
Location: 53:56:09-120:23:13   53.93583-120.38695   10U 671529 5979545     NAD27: 10U 671536 5979329
NTS Map: 093.H.16 (44 km NE of Crescent Spur).
Name Status: Official
Ranges: Rocky Mountains / Canadian Rockies / Hart Ranges / Sir Alexander Group
Regions: Athabasca Peace / Kakwa Park / Sir Alexander

First Ascent: 1929 Andrew Gilmour
This peak is #68 on the Height List for British Columbia . This peak is #48 in Prominence List for British Columbia . At 10700 feet, Mt Sir Alexander is truly an impressive peak. The surrounding massif encompasses a sizable range of peaks but Alex proper dominates. The lower half of the peak forms steep bastion like walls which lead up to a huge hanging glacier. Rising from the top of these walls and up from the glacier rises the looming summit of Alex. Exposure to falling debris is severe on most all routes.

Name Notes: Named after the explorer Sir Alex Mackenzie. The first attempt to climb Kakwa Provincial Park’s highest peak was made by Mary Jobe and Curly Phillips 1914 and again in 1915, with Phillips coming within 30 meters of the summit in 1915. Partly because of its inaccessibility and partly because it was declared unclimbable in 1922 following an over-flight by an early aircraft, it was left alone until American doctor, Andrew Gilmour reached the top in 1929. Mount Kitchi adopted 21 September 1915 as a well-established name in mountaineering circles (Ottawa file OBF 0216). Name changed to Mount Alexander Mackenzie 6 September 1916 as recommended by American alpinist S.Prescott Fay (Ottawa file OBF 0216, item 72). Further changed to Mount Sir Alexander in the 15th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 31 March 1917. Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

The most northerly outpost of the higher Canadian Rockies. Known since its discovery as Kitchi, being the Cree word for "big" or "great", and so-identified by climber Mary L. Jobe in 1914; she and her guide Don Phillips, climbed the peak in August 1914. Mary Jobe's article "Mt. Kitchi, A New Peak in the Canadian Rockies" was published in the Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Vol XLVII, No. 7, 1915, pp.481-497 (copy received May 1920, on BC file 34275s Pt.1). "Later a traveller who saw it but did not set foot on it, proposed the name 'Mount Alexander Mackenzie'...although Mackenzie was never at any time during his historic journey near enough to see it...." (Frederick Vreeland, "Early Visits to Mount Sir Alexander", American Alpine Journal, 1930, pp 114-119 with map). [the "traveller" was Prof. S. Prescott Fay (Museum of Natural History, New York?), who was also in the area in 1914; he succeedeed in influencing the Geographic Board of Canada to reverse their decision to adopt Mt. Kitchi in favour of his own suggestion, Mount Alexander Mackenzie.] Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Trip Reports 

Subject Photos   View Thumbnails
19 Sir Alexander North/ Northwest Face John Scurlock
15 Mount Sir Alexander From Southwest Lyle Knight
9 Mount Sir Alexander Massif Ross Sturgeon
7 Sir Alexander in Winter Bill Kerr
5 Sir Alexander, South-Southeast Face John Scurlock
4 Mt.Sir Alexander from Distant South David Campbell

Placename Photos
6 Kakwa Park: Obelisk Peak and Mt Sir Alexander proper Ross Sturgeon

Readers of this Page
2009.022009.032009.042009.052009.062009.072009.082009.092009.102009.112009.122010.012010.02Total
83925779546451537082335415787