Mount Steller (Chugach Mountains)

Mount Steller
Mount Steller
	Aerial view from northeast
Highest point
Elevation	10,715 ft (3,266 m)
Prominence	5,515 ft (1,681 m)
Listing	US most prominent peaks 101st;
Coordinates	60°31′13″N 143°05′27″W / 60.52028°N 143.09083°W
Geography
	Mount Steller Alaska
Location	Yakutat City and Borough; Alaska U.S.
Parent range	Chugach Mountains
Topo map	USGS Bering Glacier C-6
Climbing
First ascent	1992 by B Jacobs, G Anderson, M Bowling, R Wesson

Mount Steller is a peak at the far eastern end of the Chugach Mountains of Alaska, United States. It is notable for its isolated location among extensive icefields, and for its large rise above local terrain. For example, it rises 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above the Bering Glacier to the south in about 4 horizontal miles (6.4 km).

Mount Steller is the high point of Waxell Ridge, an east–west trending ridge on the south side of the Bagley Icefield, one of the largest icefields in North America. The large Bering Glacier flows past the east and south slopes of the ridge, while the Steller Glacier flows from its west side.

The mountain was named for the naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller.

Due to its isolated location, poor weather, and comparatively low absolute elevation by Alaskan standards, Mount Steller was not climbed until recently. The first ascent was in 1992.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Steller is located in a subarctic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.^[2] Weather systems coming off the Gulf of Alaska are forced upwards by the Chugach Mountains (orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for climbing or viewing.

References

^ ^a ^b Sources vary on the elevation and prominence of this peak, ranging from Peaklist's elevation of 10,715 ft (3,266 m) and a prominence of 5,515 ft (1,681 m) to Peakbagger's 10,515 ft (3,205 m) elevation and 5,315 ft (1,620 m) prominence.
^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.