Phyllis's Engine is a granite pinnacle located in

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.

Description

Phyllis's Engine is set within

Garibaldi Provincial Park Garibaldi Provincial Park, also called Garibaldi Park, is a wilderness park located on the coastal mainland of British Columbia, Canada, 70 kilometres (43.5 mi) north of Vancouver. It was established in 1920 and named a Class A Provincial P ...

and is part of the

Garibaldi Ranges The Garibaldi Ranges are the next-to-southwesternmost subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains; only the North Shore Mountains are farther southwest. They lie between the valley formed by the pass between the Cheakamus River and ...

of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia ...

. It is situated north of Vancouver, north-northwest of

Mount Carr Mount Carr is a mountain summit located in British Columbia, Canada. Description Mount Carr is set within Garibaldi Provincial Park and is part of the Garibaldi Ranges of the Coast Mountains. It is situated north of Vancouver and south-southe ...

, and south of

line parent A peak's line parent is the closest higher peak on the highest ridge leading away from the peak's "key col". A col is the lowest point on the ridge between two summits and is roughly synonymous with pass, gap, saddle and notch. The highest col of ...

Castle Towers Mountain Castle Towers Mountain is a triple summit mountain on the east side of Garibaldi Lake in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The first ascent party from the BC Mountaineering Club named the mountain after its appearance in August 1911. Climat ...

. Precipitation runoff and glacial meltwater from the west side of the peak drains to Garibaldi Lake, and the eastern slope drains to

Cheakamus Lake Cheakamus Lake is a lake in Garibaldi Provincial Park on the southeastern outskirts of the resort municipality of Whistler, British Columbia. It has an area of 5.7 km2 (2.2 mi2). It is an expansion of the upper Cheakamus River, with the ...

. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises in .

History

The peak is named after Phyllis Dyke (Mrs. Edward Beltz), a pioneering

British Columbia Mountaineering Club The British Columbia Mountaineering Club (BCMC) is a mountaineering organization, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded on October 28, 1907 as the Vancouver Mountaineering Club, it became one of the centres of Canadian Mountaineering, part ...

member who thought the arrangement of pinnacles and spires resembled a 19th-century

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

, so her fellow climbers jokingly referred to the landform as "Phyllis's Engine", circa 1914.G. P. V. Akrigg, Helen B. Akrigg (1997), ''British Columbia Place Names'', UBC Press, , p. 207 The name was formally submitted by Karl Ricker in 1978 as recommended by

Neal Carter Neal Marshall Carter (December 12, 1902 – March 3, 1978) was a Canadian marine biologist, cartographer, photographer, mountaineer and surveyor. He is most famous for his explorations in British Columbia, especially in the Coast Mountains where ...

of the BC Mountaineering Club, and contrary to popular belief, the name does not refer to Phyllis Munday. The toponym was adopted as "Phyllis' Engine" on March 9, 1979, and officially changed to "Phyllis's Engine" on January 6, 1995, 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 ...

. The first ascent of Phyllis's Engine was made in 1966 by F. Gratwhol and T. Kempter.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Phyllis's Engine is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Coast Mountains where they are forced upward by the range ( Orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall. As a result, the Coast Mountains experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports the Sphinx Glacier on the west slope and the Cheakamus Glacier on the east slope.

Gallery

File:Phyllis's Engine and Mount Carr.jpg, Phyllis's Engine (lower left) and Mount Carr (upper right) File:Trips 05 - Garibaldi - 07 - Phyllis Engine (90953684).jpg File:Phyllis's Engine.jpg, Phyllis's Engine, centered, viewed from west summit of Castle Towers Mountain. File:Garibaldi Lake 2.jpg, Castle Towers Mountain (left of center), Phyllis's Engine (center), Mt. Carr (right) viewed from Garibaldi Lake. Phyllis's Engine can be seen best when image is enlarged to maximum degree.

References

External links