ALPINE NOTES.
Expedition to Mt. Robson.
In the Report of the Geological Survey of Canada for 1899 (Part D, Vol. XI), appears the following note by James McEvoy, B.A. Ss., who was in charge of an expedition to examine the geology and natural resources of the country traversed by the Yellow-Head Pass route from Edmonton to Tête Jaune Cache:—
"Looking up Grand Fork is the most imposing view met with on the whole route. Great mountains are on every hand, but over all stands Robson Peak, 'a giant among giants and immeasurably supreme.' This, as well as the following, is from the description of the mountain by Milton and Cheadle.[1] 'When we first caught sight of it, a shroud of mist partially enveloped the summit, but this presently rolled away, and we saw its upper portion dimmed by a necklace of feathery clouds, beyond which its pointed apex of ice, glittering in the morning sun, shot up into the blue heaven above.' The top of the mountain is usually completely hidden and rarely indeed is it seen entirely free from clouds. The actual height of the peak is 13,700 feet, or 10,750 feet above the valley. The face of the mountain is strongly marked by horizontal lines, due to the unequal weathering of the rocks, and has the appearance of a perpendicular wall. From the summit to the base on the Grand Fork, a height of over 10,500 feet, the slope is over 60° to the horizontal.
"Although Robson Peak has been long known, its height had never been determined, nor was it supposed to be particularly notable in that respect, but now since the height of Mts. Brown, Hooker and Murchison have
- ↑ The North-West Passage by Land, pp. 252-253.
