Mount Steele: Canada’s Fifth-Highest Mountain in the Saint Elias Range

Dall Sheep rams (Ovis dalli) lie on the rocky slopes in the mountains in Kluane National Park in the Yukon in Canada | Martin Rudlof Photography

🏔️ Overview

Mount Steele is one of the great ice-covered giants of the Saint Elias Mountains in southwestern Yukon, Canada. Rising to a traditionally quoted elevation of 16,644 feet (5,073 meters), it ranks as the fifth-highest mountain in Canada, behind Mount Logan, Mount Saint Elias, Mount Lucania, and King Peak.

The mountain stands deep within Kluane National Park and Reserve, surrounded by enormous glaciers, high ridges, and some of the most remote alpine terrain in North America. Unlike mountains approached by maintained trails, Mount Steele is an expedition mountaineering objective. Reaching it generally involves aircraft-supported access to the icefields, extensive glacier travel, high-altitude climbing, and the ability to operate independently in severe weather.

Mount Steele also has an unusual scientific significance. Enormous rock-and-ice avalanches have occurred on its slopes, particularly in 2007 and 2015, making the mountain an important natural laboratory for studying large landslides in glacier-covered terrain.

⚡ Fast Facts

Fact	Details
Continent	North America
Country	Canada
State/Province	Yukon
County/Region	Southwestern Yukon
Range	Saint Elias Mountains
Parent Peak	Mount Lucania
Elevation	Commonly listed as 16,644 ft / 5,073 m*
Prominence	Commonly listed as about 2,667 ft / 813 m*
Isolation	Approximately 5.9–6.7 mi / 9.5–10.8 km, depending on dataset
NHN	Mount Lucania
Coordinates	61.0933° N, 140.3108° W
Protected Area	Kluane National Park and Reserve
First Ascent	August 15, 1935
First-Ascent Party	Walter A. Wood Jr., Harrison Wood, Hans Fuhrer, and Joseph W. Fobes
Typical Terrain	Glacier, snow, ice, steep ridges
Canadian Height Ranking	5th
Named For	Sam Steele of the North-West Mounted Police

*Mount Steele’s precise elevation remains somewhat uncertain. The historic figure of 5,073 meters is still widely quoted, while later Canadian mapping has suggested a summit closer to 5,020 ± 20 meters. Because prominence calculations depend on summit elevation, published prominence figures also vary.

📍 Location

Mount Steele rises in southwestern Yukon, within the immense mountain and glacier wilderness protected by Kluane National Park and Reserve. It lies north of Mount Logan and close to Mount Lucania and Mount Wood, forming part of an extraordinary cluster containing many of Canada’s loftiest summits.

The mountain belongs to the Icefield Ranges of the Saint Elias Mountains. Roads do not approach the summit area, and the interior icefields are vastly different from the more accessible valleys and hiking areas near the Alaska Highway.

From some roadside locations in the northern Kluane region, distant peaks of the Icefield Ranges—including Mount Steele—can be seen when conditions are clear. For mountaineers, however, practical access to the high icefields normally involves aircraft and specialized expedition logistics.

🏔️ Field Guide Tip: Mount Steele should not be confused with an ordinary backcountry hiking peak. A summit attempt is a major glacier expedition requiring advanced mountaineering skills, careful logistics, permits, and the ability to remain self-sufficient in one of Canada’s most remote mountain environments.

📏 Elevation & Prominence

Mount Steele presents an interesting problem in mountain measurement because its exact summit elevation has never been completely settled.

The famous 5,073-meter (16,644-foot) figure traces back to International Boundary Commission surveying in the early twentieth century and remains widely used in mountain databases and reference works. Later Canadian topographic mapping, however, does not show the same precise spot elevation. Contour information has instead been interpreted as suggesting an elevation around 5,020 ± 20 meters (16,470 ± 60 feet).

This difference is large enough to affect several of Mount Steele’s statistics. Using the 5,073-meter figure produces a prominence of roughly 813 meters (2,667 feet), while datasets based on the lower elevation have published prominence closer to about 760 meters (2,493 feet).

Despite the uncertainty, Mount Steele remains securely among Canada’s highest mountains and is generally ranked fifth in the country.

Its parent peak and nearest significantly higher mountain is Mount Lucania, another enormous Saint Elias summit rising a short distance to the southwest. A high ridge system connects the two mountains.

🪨 Geology & Glaciers

Mount Steele belongs to one of the youngest and most tectonically active great mountain regions in North America. The Saint Elias landscape has been created by powerful crustal deformation along the northwestern edge of the continent, while continuing uplift, erosion, and glaciation have produced extraordinary local relief.

Ice is as important as rock in shaping Mount Steele’s modern appearance. Glaciers occupy nearly every major valley around the mountain, and permanent snow and ice cover much of its upper slopes.

The enormous amount of relief between summit ridges and surrounding glaciers also makes the mountain susceptible to spectacular mass movements.

One of the most dramatic occurred on July 24, 2007, when a huge rock-and-ice avalanche descended Mount Steele’s north face. Researchers calculated that the debris traveled approximately 5.76 kilometers horizontally while descending more than 2,000 vertical meters. The event spread debris across several square kilometers and became one of the most significant documented rock avalanches in the Saint Elias Mountains.

Another enormous failure occurred in October 2015. Seismic observations and satellite imagery indicated that roughly 20 million cubic meters of material were involved in that event.

These episodes demonstrate that the apparently permanent walls of high glaciated mountains can actually be remarkably dynamic.

🌿 Flora & Fauna

The summit region of Mount Steele is dominated by snow, ice, exposed rock, and an extremely harsh alpine climate. At these elevations there is essentially no substantial plant community.

Life becomes much richer farther down in the surrounding Kluane landscape.

Kluane National Park and Reserve protects boreal forests, alpine tundra, river valleys, glaciers, wetlands, and mountain slopes. Wildlife includes Dall sheep, mountain goats, moose, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, caribou, and numerous bird species. Parks Canada describes Dall sheep as the park’s most abundant large mammal.

The contrast is striking: the summit of Mount Steele belongs to a nearly lifeless world of wind and ice, while valleys relatively nearby contain some of Yukon’s richest wildlife habitat.

Climate change is increasingly influencing this environment as well. Parks Canada’s current management planning notes substantial warming in the Kluane region and major losses in glacier area, changes that are reshaping both physical landscapes and ecosystems.

🥾 Hiking & Climbing Routes

There is no hiking trail to the summit of Mount Steele.

Climbing it is a serious expedition involving glaciers, crevasses, snow slopes, ice, exposed ridges, altitude, severe cold, and rapidly changing weather.

East Ridge

The east ridge is historically important because it was the route used during Mount Steele’s first ascent.

Walter Wood’s expedition approached from the east in 1935, traveling from the Kluane Lake area toward the glaciers below the mountain. From their advanced camps, the climbers studied several possible lines before deciding that the east ridge offered the safest practical route.

Their route involved steep snow, narrow ridges, ice, and a high plateau below the summit.

Southeast Ridge

The southeast side has also attracted later expeditions. A 2019 team attempted to approach Mount Steele via its southeast ridge, but difficult conditions—including exposed blue ice—prevented the party from completing the climb. Their experience illustrates how dramatically the difficulty of an apparently straightforward snow-and-ice route can change with annual snow and glacier conditions.

Expedition Hazards

Mountaineers must be prepared for:

Large and hidden crevasses
Avalanche terrain
Steep snow and ice
Serac and icefall hazards
High winds
Whiteouts
Extreme cold
High-altitude illness
Sudden storms
Difficult evacuation and rescue

Parks Canada emphasizes that the Kluane mountains are large, wild, and remote, and rescue can be significantly delayed by weather and aircraft availability.

Climbers entering the Kluane Icefields should consult Parks Canada well before an expedition. Mountaineering permits and aircraft access authorization may be required, and every aircraft landing within the icefields requires appropriate permission.

🧗 The First Ascent of Mount Steele

Mount Steele’s first ascent is one of the classic early stories of Yukon exploration.

The Wood Yukon Expedition of 1935 was organized primarily for scientific work and experimental aerial surveying rather than simply summit climbing. Walter A. Wood Jr. led a party that included climbers, surveyors, and support personnel into what was then a poorly mapped section of the Saint Elias Mountains.

Travel itself was a major undertaking. The expedition used horses to move supplies from the Kluane Lake region before establishing a chain of camps leading toward the glaciers beneath Mount Steele.

The climbers initially encountered deep new snow and violent weather. During one attempt, worsening conditions forced them to retreat even though they had already climbed high onto the mountain.

After waiting through another storm, Walter Wood, Harrison Wood, Swiss guide Hans Fuhrer, and Joseph W. Fobes made another attempt on August 15, 1935.

Conditions were better. The climbers followed the east ridge, crossed steep slopes and a knife-edge section, reached the broad plateau beneath the summit, and continued toward the final summit pyramid. Deep snow made the high plateau exhausting, forcing the men at times to crawl across its surface.

At approximately 2:30 p.m., the four climbers reached Mount Steele’s summit.

From the top they could see an extraordinary collection of Saint Elias giants, including Mount Lucania, Mount Logan, Mount Saint Elias, Mount Vancouver, Mount Hubbard, and distant Mount Fairweather.

The ascent took place two years before Bradford Washburn and Robert Bates completed the first ascent of nearby Mount Lucania.

🏷️ How Mount Steele Got Its Name

Mount Steele was named for Sir Samuel Benfield Steele, better known as Sam Steele, a famous officer of the North-West Mounted Police.

Surveyor J. J. McArthur applied the name around 1900. Steele had commanded the North-West Mounted Police in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush era, when the force played an important role in maintaining order along routes leading toward the goldfields.

The mountain should not be confused with Mount Steele in Antarctica, which shares the same English name but is an entirely different peak.

🌤️ Best Time to Visit

For ordinary visitors to Kluane National Park and Reserve, summer generally provides the easiest conditions for hiking, camping, wildlife viewing, and sightseeing.

Mountaineering in the icefields follows a different calendar.

Parks Canada describes Kluane’s general climbing season as extending from roughly mid-April through late June. Spring and early summer can provide more favorable snow coverage over glaciers, long daylight hours, and temperatures suitable for major expeditions, although severe storms and extreme cold remain possible at any time.

Conditions on Mount Steele can vary enormously from year to year. Climbers should therefore treat historical route descriptions as background information rather than as a guarantee of present-day conditions.

🧭 Nearby Mountains & Attractions

Mount Steele sits within one of the greatest concentrations of high mountains in North America.

Mount Lucania

Mount Lucania rises southwest of Mount Steele and reaches roughly 17,190 feet (5,240 meters). It is Canada’s third-highest mountain and is connected to Steele by an extensive ridge system.

Mount Wood

Mount Wood stands northwest of Mount Steele and is another major glacier-covered summit of the northern Saint Elias Mountains.

Mount Logan

Farther south is Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain at 19,551 feet (5,959 meters). Its enormous massif dominates the Canadian Saint Elias Mountains and is the highest summit in the country.

Kluane National Park and Reserve

The surrounding Kluane National Park and Reserve offers far more accessible ways to experience this landscape than climbing Mount Steele itself.

Visitors can explore hiking trails, camp near lakes and valleys, observe wildlife, visit the park’s visitor facilities, or take scenic flights over the spectacular icefields.

💡 Fun Facts

Mount Steele is generally considered the fifth-highest mountain in Canada.
Its traditional summit elevation is 5,073 meters, although modern maps suggest the actual height may be somewhat lower.
Mount Steele was first climbed in 1935.
The first ascent was connected to an expedition conducting experimental aerial surveying.
Mount Steele lies inside Kluane National Park and Reserve.
It belongs to the Saint Elias Mountains, home to nearly all of Canada’s highest peaks.
A high ridge connects Mount Steele with Mount Lucania.
The mountain was named for North-West Mounted Police officer Sam Steele.
Massive rock-and-ice avalanches occurred on Mount Steele in 2007 and 2015.
The 2007 event became an important case study for scientists studying high-mountain landslides.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How high is Mount Steele?

Mount Steele is commonly listed at 5,073 meters (16,644 feet). However, later Canadian topographic mapping suggests the summit may be closer to 5,020 ± 20 meters. The older 5,073-meter figure remains the most widely quoted elevation.

Where is Mount Steele?

Mount Steele is located in southwestern Yukon, Canada, within Kluane National Park and Reserve and the Saint Elias Mountains.

Is Mount Steele the fifth-highest mountain in Canada?

Yes. Using the generally accepted rankings, Mount Steele is Canada’s fifth-highest mountain, following Mount Logan, Mount Saint Elias, Mount Lucania, and King Peak.

What mountain range is Mount Steele in?

Mount Steele is part of the Saint Elias Mountains, a spectacular glacier-covered mountain system extending across Yukon, Alaska, and northwestern British Columbia.

What is Mount Steele’s parent peak?

Mount Steele’s parent peak is Mount Lucania, Canada’s third-highest mountain.

Who first climbed Mount Steele?

The first successful ascent was completed on August 15, 1935, by Walter A. Wood Jr., Harrison Wood, Hans Fuhrer, and Joseph W. Fobes during the Wood Yukon Expedition.

Can you hike Mount Steele?

No ordinary hiking trail leads to Mount Steele’s summit. Reaching the mountain requires expedition-style glacier travel and technical mountaineering.

When is the best time to climb Mount Steele?

Kluane’s general mountaineering season typically runs from mid-April through late June, although exact conditions vary substantially from year to year.

Do you need a permit to climb Mount Steele?

Mountaineering in Kluane’s icefields is regulated by Parks Canada. Climbers should arrange the appropriate mountaineering authorization and any required aircraft access permits before entering the icefields.

Why is Mount Steele scientifically important?

The mountain has experienced several enormous rock-and-ice avalanches. In particular, the July 2007 event was studied extensively by geologists and landslide researchers and provided valuable information about the behavior of very large mass movements on glacier-covered mountains.

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