Mount Colonel Foster facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mount Colonel Foster |
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,135 m (7,005 ft) |
| Prominence | 864 m (2,835 ft) |
| Parent peak | Elkhorn Mountain (2194 m) |
| Listing | Mountains of British Columbia |
| Geography | |
 Mount Colonel Foster
Location in British Columbia
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| Parent range | Elk River Mountains |
| Topo map | NTS 92F/12 |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1968, Mike Walsh |
Mount Colonel Foster is a tall mountain found on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It stands at 2,135 metres (7,005 ft) high, making it the fourth highest peak on the island. It is also one of the nine special peaks known as the Island Qualifiers, which are popular challenges for climbers.
This impressive mountain is located across the Elk River from Elkhorn Mountain. Its east face is a huge wall, about 1,000-metre (3,281 ft) tall!
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History of Mount Colonel Foster
Mount Colonel Foster was named to honor Colonel (who later became Major General) William Wasbrough Foster. He was a brave war veteran, a government official, and a very keen mountaineer. The mountain was named after him in 1912. This happened when Edward Wheeler led an Alpine Club of Canada group climbing Elkhorn Mountain. They noticed a jagged peak at the end of the Elk River Valley and decided to name it after Foster.
The Great Earthquake and Landslide
On June 23, 1946, a powerful earthquake shook Vancouver Island. It had a magnitude of 7.2 and was centered east of Strathcona Provincial Park. This earthquake caused a massive landslide on Mount Colonel Foster. About 1.5 million cubic meters (that's 53 million cubic feet!) of rock slid down the mountain. Half of this rock ended up in Landslide Lake below.
The landslide and a huge wave it created caused a lot of damage in the upper Elk Valley. You can still see the signs of this damage today.
Challenging Climbs
Mount Colonel Foster is known for being a very difficult mountain to climb. It wasn't successfully climbed until July 1968, when Mike Walsh made a solo attempt.
The East Face of the mountain, which rises above Landslide Lake, drops about 1,300 metres (4,300 ft). This makes it even taller than El Capitan in Yosemite National Park! It is one of the tallest continuous mountain faces in the world. Even though there are many different climbing routes, the mountain is still mostly known only to very dedicated climbers.
Some important climbs include:
- The first ascent of the East Face by Dick Culbert, Paul Starr, and Fred Douglas in September 1972.
- The first solo climb of the East Face by Joe Bajan in August 1974. He climbed a route called the Grand Central Couloir.
- The first winter climb of the East Face by Joe Bajan and Ross Nichol in January 1979. They took the Directtisma Route.
- In January 1985, Doug Scott, Greg Child, and Rob Wood completed the second winter ascent of the East Face. They followed Bajan's Grand Central Couloir route.
How to Get There
You can reach Mount Colonel Foster by hiking the Elk River Hiking Trail. This trail is about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) long and leads to Landslide Lake.
