Mount Forbes is the seventh tallest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

in the Canadian Rockies and the tallest within the boundaries of Banff National Park. It is located in southwestern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, southwest of the

Saskatchewan River The Saskatchewan River (Cree: ''kisiskāciwani-sīpiy'', "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining together of the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan Rivers to Lake Winn ...

Crossing in Banff. The mountain was named by

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employe ...

in 1859 after

Edward Forbes Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Manx naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainlan ...

, Hector's natural history professor at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

during the mid-19th century. Mount Forbes was first ascended on August 10, 1902, by the Swiss brothers Christian and Hans Kaufmann, guiding the British gentlemen J. Norman Collie, James Outram, Hugh E.M. Stutfield, George M. Weed, and Herman Woolley. The shark tooth-shaped peak can be "predominantly seen from many parts of the range. The normal route, the NW face and the N Ridge all are well worth climbing." __NOTOC__

Climbing routes

There are several climbing routes for Mount Forbes, including:

* West Ridge (Normal Route) III * North-West Face Variation III * West Ridge of Rosita III 5.3 The most common approach route for Mount Forbes is from the

side, starting at the

Icefields Parkway Highway 93 is a north–south highway in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway south of the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1) and the Icefields Parkway north of the Trans-Canada Highway. It travels through ...

. Park at the Glacier Lake trailhead (at the end of a short unnamed road west of the

David Thompson Highway #redirectAlberta Highway 11 Alberta Provincial Highway No. 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11 and officially named the David Thompson Highway, is a provincial highway in central Alberta, Canada. It runs for from Highway 93 ...

turn-off), and follow the trail to the head of Glacier Lake (). From there follow the old trail up the north bank of the Glacier River to the large open basin at the head of the river. Ford the Glacier river. Find the climbers trail ascending the timbered knob at the south end of the basin. Follow this trail as it climbs steeply up the knob then crosses to the west and climbs improbably up toward cliffs to the west. Eventually you climb above the canyon and then the drop slightly to the edge of the Mons Glacier. Camps can be made here or at the foot of the North Glacier of Mt. Forbes. From here, the peak can be climbed in a reasonable day. The approach takes 4 to 6 hours. A faster and shorter approach is from the west via recent logging roads starting north of Golden, BC. The 4–6 hour approach mentioned above has become much longer due to deteriorating trails, and also involves a cold river crossing. Many parties take two days using this approach. For a faster approach start on the Bush logging road and follow this until . Here turn right on the Vallenciennes Road to where you follow the left fork up the Mons road. Park just past beside Icefall Brook. From here a trail ascends up a gravel slope, where it traverses north on ledges above the Icefall Canyon. This ledge is on the west side of Mons Peak. After traversing for , the open meadows and moraines below the Mons Glacier are reached. From a camp here Mt. Forbes can be climbed in a day. This approach is long, climbs , and can be done in 3 to 4 hours. Mount Forbes

References

External links

Mount Forbes photo
Flickr
Mount Forbes aerial photo
PBase

Gallery

File:Mt. Forbes Aiguille and North Glacier.jpg, Mt. Forbes Aiguille and the Forbes' North Glacier File:Mt. Forbes summit looking NW.jpg, Mt. Forbes summit looking NW File:Mt. Forbes summit looking West.jpg, Mt. Forbes summit looking West File:Mt. Forbes summit looking SW.jpg, Mt. Forbes' summit looking SW File:Mt. Forbes summit looking SE.jpg, Mt. Forbes' summit looking SE {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes Three-thousanders of Alberta Mountains of Banff National Park

Climbing routes

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Gallery