This mountain which is 8,002 feet high is located in the Cascade mountains just north of the US-Canada border. The name means ‘fang’ in the Halkomelem language and it was first climbed in 1927. However, it’s most famous for its Northeast Buttress which was climbed in 1963.
On December 9, 1956, Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 on a scheduled flight from Vancouver to Calgary encountered severe icing and turbulence. The pilots climbed to 19,200 feet and then they experienced a fire warning indication light in engine number two. They contacted Vancouver Air Traffic Control and requested a flight path that would return them to the Vancouver airport. Instead of turning left they turned right into the mountains. The Canadair North Star plane crashed on the upper slopes of the mountain, killing all 62 people on board. Among the victims were five professional Canadian football players on their way home from the annual Shrine Game between the East and West all-stars in Vancouver. At the time, it was one of the deadliest airline crashes. Click on the photo to see a larger version.
