Taurus Mountain is a mountain summit located in British Columbia , Canada .
21-633: Taurus Mountain is a 2,972-meter-elevation (9,751-foot) peak situated 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) southeast of The Bugaboos , in the Purcell Mountains which are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains . Precipitation runoff from Taurus Mountain drains southwest into the headwaters of Howser Creek thence Duncan Lake ; and from the north slope into headwaters of Frances Creek and eventually the Columbia River . Topographic relief
42-521: A Secwepemc people and the earliest known inhabitants of the area, call it Yexyexéscen (striped rock), spelled in Dawson 1891 as Yuh-hai-has-kun , The Mountain of the Spiral Road . Other unofficial names include Cloud Cap Mountain. Mount Robson boasts great vertical relief over the local terrain. From Kinney Lake , the south-west side of the mountain rises 2,975 m (9,760 ft) to
63-737: A popular mountaineering destination. The Bugaboos are protected within Bugaboo Provincial Park . The Bugaboos are located in the northwestern extreme of the Purcells in the Columbia Mountains , in the south-east of the province. The nearest towns are Radium and Golden . They are commonly subdivided into four divisions: the Bugaboo Glacier Peaks, and the Eastern, Central, and Western Spires. The nearby Vowell and Conrad Groups are usually considered separate from
84-401: Is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Temperatures in winter can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports unnamed glaciers on the mountain's slopes. The Bugaboos The Bugaboos are a mountain range in the Purcell Mountains of eastern British Columbia , Canada . The granite spires of the group are
105-534: Is significant as the summit rises over 1,280 meters (4,200 feet) above Frances Creek in two kilometers (1.24 mile). The name Taurus was applied to the mountain by Arthur O. Wheeler during his survey trip across Bugaboo Pass in 1910. Conrad Kain said that Wheeler called the mountain Taurus "because it was like a bull." From the Bugaboo region its general appearance suggests a formidable bull. The mountain's toponym
126-798: The Coast Range . The south face of Mount Robson is clearly visible from the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), and is commonly photographed along this route. Mount Robson was likely named after Colin Robertson , who worked for both the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company at various times in the early 19th century, though there was confusion over the name as many assumed it to have been named for John Robson , an early premier of British Columbia. The Texqa’kallt ,
147-572: The Arctic and Pacific oceans via the Smoky and Robson Rivers , respectively. It since has receded more than 2 kilometres and is the source of the Robson River only. The peak of Mount Robson has a tundra climate ( ET ). In 1893, 5 years after the expedition of A.P. Coleman to Athabasca Pass and the final settling of the mistaken elevations of Mount Hooker and Mount Brown , Mount Robson
168-543: The Bugaboos. Located in the snow- and rain-heavy "Columbia Wet Belt", this section of the Purcells is subject to heavy erosion and large, active glaciers. Originally covered in weaker rock, glaciation eventually revealed the granodiorite batholiths which form the group's distinctive spires. The surrounding rock is approximately 600 million to 1 billion years old, while the Bugaboo intrusion dates to 135 million years ago. The igneous intrusion cooled slowly, forming
189-702: The Hargreaves family who operated the Mount Robson Ranch across the Fraser River from the mountain and who outfitted most of the early trips into Berg Lake. The Berg Glacier calves directly into the lake. The Robson Glacier, which fills the cirque and valley between Mount Robson and Mount Resplendent , in the early 1900s fed directly into both Berg lake and Adolphus Lake , straddling the Continental Divide and draining thus to both
210-709: The area led the BC government to establish Bugaboo Glacier Provincial Park and the Bugaboo Alpine Recreation Area in 1969. The Alpine Club of Canada constructed a large hut in 1972 to reduce environmental damage to the fragile alpine meadows below the spires. The Bugaboos have several internationally known rock climbing routes. The Beckey-Chouinard (South Howser Spire), West Ridge (Pigeon Spire), Northeast Ridge (Bugaboo Spire), Snowpatch and Surf's Up (Snowpatch Spire) attract world-class climbers. There are both bolted and free routes throughout
231-602: The area. Prior to 1913, it had been necessary to approach the mountain by pack train from Edmonton or Laggan via Jasper and Lucerne, so only a few intrepid explorers had made previous attempts at exploring the mountain. The most famous early ascensionist was George Kinney , a founding member of the Alpine Club, who on his twelfth attempt in August 1909 claimed to have reached the summit with local outfitter Donald "Curly" Phillips . A major controversy over this claim and over
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#1732786541933252-463: The crystalline structure of the hard granite found today. Originally named the "Nunataks", the Bugaboo spires were first noted by a surveying expedition in the late 1800s. Mining brought the first Europeans to the region with a small, ill-fated gold rush occurring in 1895 and 1896 near Bugaboo Falls. The area was prospected and staked, but the meager deposits turned out to be mostly pyrite and galena . The name "Bugaboo" originated from this rush;
273-774: The group during the winter. Mount Robson Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America 's Rocky Mountain range ; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies . The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia , and is part of the Rainbow Range . Mount Robson is the second highest peak entirely in British Columbia, behind Mount Waddington in
294-406: The group. Climbers and hikers often use the 40-person Conrad Kain hut , maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada. Located near Snowpatch Spire, the hut replaced the original fibreglass igloos placed by BC Parks. The Bugaboo Lodge, constructed in 1967, is near the eastern boundary of the park. Heli-skiing and heli-hiking are conducted from the lodge into the park. Ski touring is also popular in
315-563: The highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Along with Albert and Bess McCarthy and others, Kain would pioneer first ascents of North Howser, Marmolata, and Crescent Spires. Logging in the area resulted in road construction in the 1950s and 60s. This led to a new influx of climbers. Fred Beckey and Yvon Chouinard (founder of the Patagonia clothing company) established new routes on several spires. The growing popularity of
336-436: The implausible nature of his unlikely and dangerous route dominated the discourse within the Alpine Club elite, and he is now generally presumed to have reached the high summit ridge before being turned back at the final ice dome of the peak. Kinney Lake , below the south face, is named in his honour. The 1,500 m (4,900 ft) Emperor Face on the northwest side provides the most formidable challenge to elite climbers on
357-517: The mountain, though the more popular routes are the Kain route and the southeast face. The Kain route follows the first ascent's path up the entire length of the Robson Glacier from its terminus above Robson Pass to the upper northeast face and the summit ridge. Mount Robson has a high failure rate on climbing to the top, with only about 10% of attempts being successful. Although the mountain
378-522: The summit. The north face of Mount Robson is heavily glaciated and 800 m (2,600 ft) of ice extends from the summit to the Berg Glacier. The north face can be seen from Berg Lake , and reached by a 19 km (12 mi) hike. The lake is approximately 2 km long and lies at 1,646 m (5,400 ft) elevation. There are backcountry campgrounds at each end of the lake and a log shelter on its banks, named Hargreaves Shelter in honor of
399-527: The term was used by prospectors for a "dead-end". Climbers became interested in the group shortly after. In 1910, an expedition led by Thomas Longstaff and surveyor Arthur Oliver Wheeler entered the area. They were guided by renowned European climber Conrad Kain . Kain would return to the area six years later and pioneer many difficult climbing routes. The Austrian climber described his route up Bugaboo Spire as his most difficult Canadian ascent, more challenging than his celebrated route up Mount Robson ,
420-433: Was first surveyed by James McEvoy and determined to be the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The first documented ascent of Mount Robson, led by the young guide Conrad Kain , at its time the hardest ice face to be climbed on the continent, was achieved during the 1913 annual expedition organized by a large party of Alpine Club of Canada members who made use of the newly completed Grand Trunk Pacific railway to access
441-647: Was officially adopted June 9, 1960, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada . The first ascent of the summit was made July 28, 1946, by Edward F. Little, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy and Alex Fabergé. The second ascent was made August 1, 1952, by three members of the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club: Peter Robinson, Bob Collins and Bill Briggs. Based on the Köppen climate classification , Taurus Mountain
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