Mount Temple is a

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 (topography), summit area, and ...

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada's oldest National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous terrain, wi ...

of 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 ...

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. 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 The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

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 peak to be climbed in the Canadian segment of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

Tragedy

* On July 11, 1955, in one of Canada's most tragic mountaineering accidents, seven

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

male teenagers were killed on the southwest ridge route. A warm summer day had caused several nearby

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

s. They finally decided to turn back and during the descent, an avalanche swept 10 members of the party down the snowfield through a bottleneck of rocks. Unfortunately, the entire party only had one

ice axe An ice axe is a multi-purpose hiking and climbing tool used by mountaineers in both the ascent and descent of routes that involve snow, ice, or frozen conditions. Its use depends on the terrain: in its simplest role it is used like a walking ...

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. * 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. * East Ridge (IV 5.7) * North Face, Elzinga/Miller (IV 5.7) * North East Buttress, Greenwood/Jones (V, 5.7, A3 or 5.10) One of the most secure routes on the north side of the mountain. Free climbed in August 1983, René 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 This was the first ascent of a peak above in the Canadian Rockies.

First Winter Ascent

* January 2, 1969 James Jones and Dave Haley via the Southwest Ridge The Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 52, 1969. page 68

References

External links

*
Computer-generated virtual panorama from Mount Temple
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Temple Canadian Rockies Mountains of Banff National Park Three-thousanders of Alberta