Cheops Mountain, is a mountain summit located in Glacier National Park in the

Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Cheops Mountain is situated in the Hermit Range, and the summit provides a good view of the Hermit and Sir Donald Ranges. Its nearest higher peak is Ursus Major Mountain, to the northwest. Cheops is visible from Highway 1, the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

at Rogers Pass.

History

The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of the mountain was made in 1893 by Samuel E. S. Allen and Walter D. Wilcox. The

1910 Rogers Pass avalanche The 1910 Rogers Pass Avalanche killed 58 men clearing a railroad line just outside of Revelstoke in Rogers Pass through the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia on March 4, 1910. It is Canada's worst avalanche disaster. Rogers Pass The Canadian ...

was the deadliest avalanche in Canadian history, resulting in the deaths of 62

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

workers. In the late afternoon of March 4, 1910, an avalanche swept down the slopes of Cheops, burying the railroad tracks in snow. The men were working to clear the tracks when shortly before midnight the deadly slide hit, coming from the opposite side of the valley down Avalanche Mountain. The mountain's current name was officially adopted in 1951 when approved by the

Geographical Names Board of Canada The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is a national committee with a secretariat in Natural Resources Canada, part of the Government of Canada, which authorizes the names used and name changes on official federal government maps of Canada ...

. Prior to that it was known as Mount Cheops. The peak was named by

Otto Julius Klotz Otto Julius Klotz ''OLS, DLS, DTS'' (March 31, 1852 – December 28, 1923) was a Canadian astronomer and Dominion Surveyor. He was born in Preston (Cambridge), Upper Canada, the son of Otto Klotz and Elise (Elizabeth) Wilhelm, Klotz was educ ...

for its resemblance to the

Pyramid of Cheops The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, ...

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Cheops Mountain has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from the mountain drains into the

Illecillewaet River The Illecillewaet River is a tributary of the Columbia River located in British Columbia, Canada. Fed by the Illecillewaet Glacier in Glacier National Park, the river flows approximately to the southwest,Geography of British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, bordered by the Pacific Ocean. With an area of it is Canada's third-largest province. The province is almost four times the size of the United Kingdom and larger than every United States ...

References

External links

* Weather
Cheops Mountain
* 1910 postcard image of Cheops Mountain

{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Cheops Mountain , North = Grizzly Mountain , Northeast = Rogers Pass , ENE =

Mount Macdonald Mount Macdonald is a mountain peak located in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, immediately to the east of Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park. It is notable as the location of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Connaught and M ...

, East = Avalanche Mountain , ESE =

Eagle Peak Eagle Peak is the name of 44 mountain peaks of the United States including: *Eagle Peak (Alaska) * Eagle Peak (Admiralty Island), in Alaska * Eagle Peak (Washington), a summit in Mount Rainier National Park *Eagle Peak (Mariposa County, California), ...

, Southeast =

Mount Sir Donald Mount Sir Donald is a mountain summit located in the Rogers Pass area of Glacier National Park in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Its good rock quality and classic Matterhorn shape make it popular for alpine rock climbers, a ...

, South =

Illecillewaet River The Illecillewaet River is a tributary of the Columbia River located in British Columbia, Canada. Fed by the Illecillewaet Glacier in Glacier National Park, the river flows approximately to the southwest,Mount Bonney Mount Bonney, is a mountain summit located in Glacier National Park in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Mount Bonney is surrounded by ice including the Bonney Glacier, Clarke Glacier, Swanzy Glacier, and Bonney Névé. Its nea ...

, Southwest =

, West = Catamount Peak , WNW = Ursus Major Mountain , Northwest =

Ursus Minor Mountain Ursus Minor Mountain is a mountain summit located in Glacier National Park, in the Hermit Range of the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. Ursus Minor Mountain is situated northeast of Revelstoke, and west of Golden. It is also se ...

Two-thousanders of British Columbia Selkirk Mountains Kootenay Land District