Mount Fairweather

Did You Know?

• The mountain receives over 100 inches of precipitation each year, mostly snow, and sees temperatures around -50°F.
• The mountain marks the northwest extremity of the Alaska Panhandle.

Naming

It is said this mountain and Yaas'éit'aa Shaa (Mt. St. Elias) were originally next to each other but had an argument and separated. Their children, the mountains in between the two peaks, are called Tsalxaan Yatx'i (Children of Tsalxaan). The colonial name for the mountain came from Captain James Cook, on May 3, 1778 apparently for the unusually good weather encountered at the time. The mountain has also gained several names from different languages: "Mt. Beautemps" by La Perouse (1786, atlas); "Mte. Buen-tiempo" by Galiano (1802, map 3); "Gor[a]-Khoroshy-pogody" on Russian Hydrographic Dept. Chart 1378 in 1847; "G[ora] Fayerveder" by Captain Tebenkov (1852, map 7), Imperial Russian Navy; "Schönwetterberg" by Constantin Grewingk in 1850; and "Schönwetter Berg" by Justus Perthes in 1882.

Climbing history

No documented attempt at climbing the mountain had been successful until 1931. In 1926, Allen Carpe, Andy Taylor and W.S. Ladd reached 2890 m on the West Ridge, but were forced back due to a steep notch in the ridge that made ferrying supplies very difficult. In 1930, Bradford Washburn also made an attempt on the West Ridge but traveling conditions forced a retreat at 2040 m. In 1931, Allen Carpe and Terris Moore summited via the Southeast Ridge on June 8, 1931.

After failing to reach the summit in 1926, Carpe, Ladd, and Taylor returned in 1931 along with a new member Terris Moore. In early April the group began their approach by boat but stormy weather delayed them rounding Cape Fairweather until April 17. They reached Lituya Bay and unloaded their supplies on the beach. Backtracking 21 km along the coast, they made their way to the Fairweather Glacier.

From base camp in a spot they called Paradise Valley, they decided to attempt the mountain from the south rather than via the west ridge. Due to deep snow, they realized that skis and snowshoes would be of great help so Carpe and Moore made the 80 km round trip to fetch them from Lituya Bay. They ascended the glacier from base camp and set up camp at 1520 m on the mountain's south face. On May 25, they established high camp at 2740 m after making significant progress up a ridge on a rare day of good weather.

However, the weather turned and they were forced to descend after an overnight coating of snow. After waiting out the snowstorm for six days at lower camp, they made their way back up to high camp on June 2. They left for the summit at 1:30 am on June 3 and having reached the southeast shoulder by mid-morning, they were feeling so confident that they left the willow wands behind. However, higher altitude and the weeks of hard effort slowed their progress and then the weather changed.

By 1 pm not far from the summit, they decided to retreat and had to descend without the wands to guide them. They managed to reach the tents by 4 pm. Ladd and Taylor volunteered to descend due to dwindling supplies at high camp with the hope that Carpe and Moore would be able to make another attempt in good weather. The storm raged for four days before it finally cleared in the evening on June 7.

At 10 pm, Carpe and Moore set out for the summit and with no further difficulties made it to the top. Later climbs include: June 26, 1958, Paddy Sherman and 7 other Canadians reached the summit via the SE Ridge; June 12, 1968, West Ridge, Loren Adkins, Walter Gove, Paul Myhre, John Neal and Kent Stokes; July 10, 1973, Southwest Ridge, Peter Metcalf, Henry Florschutz, Toby O'Brien and Lincoln Stoller; May 31, 1981, Southeast Ridge from the ocean, Gary Clark, Kim Grandfield, David Lunn, 19 days from Sea Otter Beach and back, bivouac in crevasse under summit; and May 26, 1989, East-Southeast Ridge, Jim Haberl, Kevin Haberl, Michael Down, Alastair Foreman.