The mountain is part of the Pelion Range and is situated within the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park at the easternmost boundary of the Murchison River catchment.

[4] The mountain summit is at grid reference 152682 UTM Zone 55S and high resolution topographical information is available on Tasmap Achilles (4036) 1:25000.

The Forth River has its origin directly east of Pelion West at Frog Flats (720 metres (2,360 ft) above sea level), the lowest point on the whole Overland Track.

[citation needed] Keith Ernest Lancaster, an early bushwalking and mountain climbing pioneer, climbed Mount Pelion West on 30 January 1946 by enduring a slow and painful crawl through sections of the sharp and prickly Richea scoparia that frequently inhabits alpine areas around Tasmanian mountains.

[5] On the Achilles Tasmap is marked the approximate location of a walking track to climb the mountain along its northeastern spur.