Mount Geikie, pronounced like "geeky", is a mountain summit located in Mount Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. Situated southwest of Jasper near the Tonquin Valley, Mount Geikie is the highest peak of The Ramparts in the Canadian Rockies. Its nearest higher peak is Mount Fraser, to the southeast, and the Continental Divide lies to the east. Mount Geikie is composed of quartzite of the Cambrian period. This rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny. The vertical wall of its north face is over high, and has been compared to the other great north faces of the Canadian Rockies such as North Twin, Alberta, and Kitchener.

History Mount Geikie was named in 1898 by J. E. McEvoy of the Geological Survey of Canada for Scottish geologist Sir Archibald Geikie (1835–1924), who was the director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1882 to 1901. The mountain was labelled on Arthur O. Wheeler's 1911 topographic map of the Mount Robson area. The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1951 when approved by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.

Climbing The first ascent of Mount Geikie was made in 1924 by Val Fynn, M.D. Geddes, and Cyril G. Wates via a southwest route. The normal climbing route is the Southeast Face (IV, 5.5).

North Face The first ascent of the north face was accomplished in August 1967 by John R. Hudson and Royal Robbins (). Hudson died in 1969 while scouting a new route on Huascarán. The first solo ascent was made in August 2017 by Tony McLane of Canada. Other routes include: Lowe/Hannibal () in August 1979 by George Lowe and Dean Hannibal. Hesse-Shilling (5.10) by Mark Hesse and Brad Shilling in August 1994. Honky Tonquin (VI+ 5.10 A3) by Seth Shaw and Scott Simper in July 1999.

Climate Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Geikie is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Winter temperatures can drop below -20 °C with wind chill factors below -30 °C. The months July and August offer the most favorable weather months for climbing. However, these months coincide with mosquito season, which requires effective defenses for the days-long approach to reach the mountain. Precipitation runoff from Mount Geikie drains into Geikie Creek and Tonquin Creek, both tributaries and headwaters of the Fraser River.

See also

Geography of British Columbia

References

External links Mount Geikie and The Ramparts aerial photo: PBase Ansel Adams' Mount Geikie photo: Flickr Weather: Mount Geikie Pronunciation: Cambridge Dictionary