Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Mount Temple (Alberta)

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Parent range
  
Bow Range

Age of rock
  
550 million years

Elevation
  
3,544 m

First ascent
  
1894

Topo map
  
NTS 82N/08

Easiest route
  
Scramble (SW)

Prominence
  
1,544 m

Province
  
Alberta

Mount Temple (Alberta) wwwsummitpostorgimagesoriginal192273jpg

Listing
  
Canada highest major peaks 37th Canada prominent peaks 128th

Mountain type
  
Quartzite and limestone

Mountain range
  
Canadian Rockies, Bow Range

First ascenders
  
Samuel Allen, Walter Wilcox, L. F. Frissel

Similar
  
Mount Hungabee, Fairview Mountain, Mount Fay, Mount Athabasca, Mount Hector

Mount Temple is a mountain in Banff National Park of the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada.

Contents

Map of Mount Temple, Improvement District No. 9, AB, Canada

Mt. Temple is located in the Bow River Valley between Paradise Creek and Moraine Creek and is the highest peak in the Lake Louise area. The peak dominates the western landscape along the Trans-Canada Highway from Castle Junction to Lake Louise.

History

The mountain was named by George Mercer Dawson in 1884 after Sir Richard Temple who visited the Canadian Rockies that same year. Mt. Temple was the first 11,000-foot (3,400 m) peak to be climbed in the Canadian segment of the Rocky Mountains.

Tragedy

  • On July 11, 1955, in one of Canada's most tragic mountaineering accidents, seven American male teenagers were killed on the southwest ridge route. A warm summer day had caused several nearby avalanches. They finally decided to turn back and during the descent, an avalanche swept 10 members of the party 200 m (656 ft) down the snowfield through a bottleneck of rocks. Unfortunately, the entire party only had one ice axe among them and were not well prepared for the seriousness of the route. The party had also gone up the route without either of their two group leaders.
  • On Sept. 25, 2015, Jen Kunze, an avid runner and hiker from Calgary, Ab. fell to her death.

    • Climbing routes

    The mountain offers several routes for climbers and the normal route on the southwest side offers a moderate class scrambling route. See Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies for a description of that route. Climbers must be careful on this "easy" climb due to falling rock and if lost on the route, steep cliffs and avalanches.

  • South-West Ridge (Normal Route) (I)
  • By late July or early August, the southwest ridge is generally free of snow and is a moderate scramble for experienced parties. An ice axe is recommended for the summit.
  • East Ridge (IV 5.7)
  • North Face, Elzinga/Miller (IV 5.7)
  • North East Buttress, Greenwood/Jones (III, 5.7, A3 or 5.10) One of the most secure routes on the north side of the mountain. Free climbed in August 1983, RenĂ© Boisselle and Bernard Faure.

    • Current route conditions can be obtained from a climbing warden at the park information centre in Lake Louise. A climber's log outside the centre may also provide comments from other climbers.

    First Ascent

  • August 17, 1894 Walter D. Wilcox, Samuel E. S. Allen and Lewis Frissell

    • References

    Mount Temple (Alberta) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA