The “Heights” of Mount Robson

Since the early days of written history, the estimated height of Mount Robson has changed several times. The first mention of Robson’s height is also the first written mention of the mountain that we know of. It is claimed that on August 26th, 1862, John M. Sellar (a member of the Overlanders) wrote:

“At 4 p.m. we passed Snow or Cloud Cap Mountain which is the highest and finest on the whole Leather Pass. It is 9000 feet above the level of the valley at its base, and the guide told us that out of twenty-nine times that he had passed it he had only seen the top once before.”

Real photo postcard, hand coloured by Coast Publishing Company, Vancouver, BC.  Note the height of 13,700 feet – likely dating the postcard before 1912. 

In 1863, British explorers, Milton and Cheadle, estimated Mount Robson to be between 10,000 and 15,000 feet. They described the great mountain: 

“On every side the snowy heads of mighty hills crowded round, whilst, immediately behind us, a giant among giants, and immeasurably supreme, rose Robson’s Peak.”

In 1898, James McEvoy, did a geological survey for Canada of the Robson area. He records:

“The actual height of the peak is 13,700 feet, or 10,750 feet above the valley… it has the distinction of being the highest known peak in the Canadian Rockies.”

A.O. Wheeler surveyed Robson in 1912, and calculated the height to be 13,062 feet.

Later, Wheeler would revise that measurement to 12,972 feet while conducting the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission.  This is the established height of Mount Robson to this day. 

Note: From the base of Mount Robson in the Fraser River Valley to its peak there is a 3,000 metre (9,843 foot) rise over a distance of only three kilometres… “it is not far below that of Mount Everest and is unrivaled in the Canadian or U.S. Rocky Mountains” (Bill Corbett).

Sources & Further Reading:

https://www.spiralroad.com/robson/#:~:text=Great%20mountains%20are%20on%20every,10%2C750%20feet%20above%20the%20valley.

https://historynstuff.blogspot.com/2020/02/mount-robson-historic-timeline.html