Mount Kidd is a

double-summit A double summit, double peak, twin summit, or twin peak refers to a mountain or hill that has two summits, separated by a col or saddle. One well-known double summit is Austria’s highest mountain, the Großglockner, where the main summit of ...

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

centrally located in

Kananaskis Country Kananaskis Country is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The area is named for the Kananaskis River, which was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a Cree acquaintance. Cove ...

in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Mount Kidd is situated within

Spray Valley Provincial Park Spray Valley Provincial Park is a provincial park located east of the Rocky Mountains, along the Spray River in western Alberta, Canada. The park is part of the Kananaskis Country park system (along with Bluerock Wildland Provincial Park, Bow Va ...

, and its nearest higher neighbor is Mount Sparrowhawk, to the northwest. Mount Kidd is a landmark that can be seen from Highway 40 in the

Kananaskis Village Kananaskis Village is an unincorporated community in Alberta's Rockies within the Kananaskis Country park system in the Kananaskis Improvement District of Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately south of the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway ...

area, and from the

Kananaskis Country Golf Course Kananaskis Country Golf Course is a public 36-hole golf course situated in Kananaskis Country, a park system west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The course opened in 1983 at a cost of $25.5 ...

which lies at the eastern base of the mountain.

History

In 1907, Dr. Donaldson

Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Ins ...

Dowling, an engineer with the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; french: Commission géologique du Canada (CGC)) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the en ...

, named the mountain for John Alfred (Fred) Kidd, who was a resident of nearby

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

, Alberta. From 1902 to 1907, Kidd ran the Morley general store and outfitted expeditions and geological survey crews such as Dowling's with supplies. The first ascent of the mountain was made in 1947 by R. C. Hind and J. F. Tarrant. The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1953 by the

Geographical Names Board of Canada The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is a national committee with a secretariat in Natural Resources Canada, part of the Government of Canada, which authorizes the names used and name changes on official federal government maps of Canada ...

. In June 1986, Mount Kidd was the scene of the first of three related airplane crashes known as the

Rescue 807 Crashes The Rescue 807 Crashes refers to three related aircraft accidents in Kananaskis Country, Alberta on 6 and 14 June 1986. Two aircraft crashed on separate days while searching for the first aircraft. All 13 people on board the three aircraft were ki ...

. In August 2010, James Hoshizaki stepped onto a snow cornice to pose for a photo when it gave way, resulting in an avalanche that swept him down about 200 metres to his death.

Geology

Mount Kidd is composed of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

laid down during the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the

Laramide orogeny The Laramide orogeny was a time period of mountain building in western North America, which started in the Late Cretaceous, 70 to 80 million years ago, and ended 35 to 55 million years ago. The exact duration and ages of beginning and end of the o ...

. The

Lewis Overthrust The Lewis Overthrust is a geologic thrust fault structure of the Rocky Mountains found within the bordering national parks of Glacier in Montana, United States and Waterton Lakes in Alberta, Canada. The structure was created due to the collision of ...

extends over 450 km (280 mi) from Mount Kidd south to Steamboat Mountain, located west of Great Falls, Montana. Mount Kidd marks the northern end of the Lewis Thrust Fault.

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Mount Kidd is located in a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

zone with cold snowy winters and mild summers. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C (−4 °F) with wind chill factors below −30 °C (−22 °F). Weather conditions during winter make Mount Kidd one of the better places in the Rockies for ice climbing. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from the mountain drains into the

Kananaskis River The Kananaskis River is a mountain river in western Alberta, Canada. It is a tributary of the Bow River, crossing the length of Kananaskis Country. The river was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a Cree. Course The Kananaskis originates in th ...

which is a tributary of the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

, and thence 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 ...

Climbing

Mount Kidd has two summits, a north and south peak, each with scramble routes. The more massive north peak is the true summit at 2,958 metres (9,705 ft), whereas the lesser south peak rises to 2,895 metres (9,498 ft). Additionally, Mount Kidd has a class 5.7 rock climbing route on its northeast buttress, as well a 5.8 route called ''The Fold'' on the south peak. In 1985, Rudi Kranabitter and Ferdl Taxbock made the first ascent of this now-classic route. Ice Climbing Routes with

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also r ...

on Mount Kidd: * ''A Bridge Too Far'' – WI4+ * ''Kidd Falls'' – WI4 * ''Tasting Fear'' – WI5− * ''Wedge Smear'' – WI3 * ''Sinatra Falls'' – WI2

Gallery

File:Mount Kidd in Kananaskis Country.jpg, Mount Kidd seen from northbound Highway 40. Note the geologic fold in the mountain File:View from Kananaskis Village.jpg, View of Mount Kidd from Kananaskis Village File:Mt. Kidd, Ribbon Lake.jpg, Mt. Kidd centered, South Kidd (right), and Ribbon Lake. File:Kananaskis country heading south stopped in a lay-by for a defrost (11016251285).jpg, Mount Kidd close-up of East Face

References

External links

* Mount Kidd weather web site
Mountain Forecast
* Drone video at Mount Kidd
YouTube
* Mt. Kidd reflection photo
Flickr
{{Canadian Rockies, state=collapsed

Kidd Kidd may refer to: Places * Kidd (railway point), British Columbia, a former Canadian settlement * Kidd's Beach, a coastal town in the Eastern Cape, South Africa * Kidd Islands, Antarctic island grouping * Mount Kidd, a peak in the Canadian Roc ...