Tunnel Mountain, also known as Sleeping Buffalo (

Siksiká The Blackfoot language, also called Niitsi'powahsin () or Siksiká ( ; , ), is an Algonquian language spoken by the Blackfoot or people, who currently live in the northwestern plains of North America. There are four dialects, three of which a ...

: ''Iinii Istako''; Nakoda: ''Eyarhey Tatanga Woweyahgey Wakân''), 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 area, and is usually higher t ...

located in the

Bow River The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake ...

Valley of

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first 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 ter ...

Alberta, Canada Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

at the junction of the Spray River with the Bow and overlooking the Hot Springs on Sulphur Mountain. The mountain is nearly completely encircled by the town of Banff and the

Banff Springs Hotel The Fairmont Banff Springs, formerly and commonly known as the Banff Springs Hotel, is a historic hotel in western Canada, located in Banff, Alberta. The entire town, including the hotel, is situated in Banff National Park, a national park manag ...

grounds. For many Indigenous people, the Buffalo is not sleeping anymore since

reintroduced wild bison in 2017.

Etymology

The

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bl ...

name for the mountain is ''Iinii Istako'' and the Stoney Nakoda language name is ''Eyarhey Tatanga Woweyahgey Wakân''. The

Stoney people The Nakoda (also known as Stoney, , or Stoney Nakoda) are an Indigenous people in Western Canada and the United States. Their territory used to be large parts of what is now Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Montana, but their reserves are now in Al ...

called it "Sleeping Buffalo" for a long time, as it resembles a sleeping

buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

when viewed from the north and east. In 1858,

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 employed ...

named the small peak "The Hill", likely in reference to its status as the smallest peak adjacent to the Banff townsite. In the 1880s

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

surveyors first considered blasting a tunnel through the mountain for the tracks through the

Bow Valley Bow Valley is a valley along the upper Bow River in Alberta, Canada. The name "Bow" refers to the reeds that grew along its banks and which were used by the local First Nations in Canada, First Nations people to make bows; the Blackfoot langu ...

. Even though they discovered another route for the train and the tunnel idea was abandoned, the name Tunnel Mountain stuck. In September 2016, fifteen First Nations signed a resolution calling for the beginning of an official process with the

Natural Resources Canada Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; ; )Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for natural r ...

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 Canad ...

to rename Tunnel Mountain, Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain. At their November 2017 "Indigenous Leaders' Dialogue" in Banff, representatives granted the name, ''Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain'' ceremonially as they await the decision of the NRC. The

fire lookout A fire lookout (sometimes also called a fire watcher) is a person assigned the duty to look for fire from atop a building known as a fire lookout tower. These towers are used in remote areas, normally on mountain tops with high elevation and ...

on top of the mountain began to be known as "King's Lookout," following a Royal Tour in 1939 when King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

and

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

climbed to the lookout.

History

In 1882, a team of surveyors led by Major A.B. Rogers, of Rogers Pass fame, was surveying for the construction of the

. Rogers, likely in a hurry, assumed the easiest path for the railway to take would be to simply follow the

. On account of the difficulties that would be faced with river crossings and the steepness of the cliffs between the northwestern edge of

Mount Rundle Mount Rundle is a mountain in Canada's Banff National Park overlooking the towns of Banff and Canmore, Alberta. The Cree name was ''Waskahigan Watchi'' or house mountain. In 1858 John Palliser renamed the mountain after Reverend Robert Rundle, ...

and Tunnel Mountain, Rogers' team suggested the construction of a tunnel through the tiny mountain. CPR General Manager

William Cornelius Van Horne Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, (February 3, 1843September 11, 1915) was an American businessman, industrialist and railroad magnate who spent most of his career in Canada. He is famous for overseeing the construction of the first Canadian Tran ...

was furious at the suggestion, exclaiming "Are we going to hold up this railway for a year and a half while they build their damned tunnel? Take it out!" An alternative route north of the mountain was found, which incidentally shortened the railway by a mile, and avoided two long hills, saving the CPR millions of dollars. Surveyor Charles Shaw described the suggestion of a tunnel as "the most extraordinary blunder I have ever known in the way of engineering." The idea of a tunnel was scrapped altogether, but the mountain is still called Tunnel Mountain to this day.

Hiking

Tunnel Mountain, likely due to its easy grade and location in the heart of Banff, is a very popular hike. The trail has a gentle

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

for most of the way, with a few mildly steep sections, and is only round-trip. The top offers a panoramic view of the townsite, the Bow valley and the surrounding wilderness, and many recommend it as an easy introductory hike to the area. The mountain has also drawn praise from many famous mountaineers. James Outram, the first person to climb

Mount Assiniboine Mount Assiniboine, also known as Assiniboine Mountain, is a pyramidal peak mountain on the Great Divide, on the British Columbia/Alberta border in Canada. At , it is the highest peak in the Southern Continental Ranges of the Canadian Rockies. ...

climbed Tunnel in 1900, commenting "the view will never be forgotten."

Arthur O. Wheeler Arthur Oliver Wheeler (May 1, 1860 – May 20, 1945) was born in Ireland and immigrated to Canada in 1876 at the age of 16. He became a land surveyor and surveyed large areas of western Canada, including photo-topographical surveys of the Selkir ...

, co-founder of the

Alpine Club of Canada The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) is an amateur athletic association with its national office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler, ...

also praised the view: Perhaps the most devout admirer of the mountain was Anne Ness, a local resident. Anne climbed Tunnel Mountain over 8000 times over a 40-year period, averaging 200 ascents a year. Ness was even known to climb the mountain twice a day; once during lulls in her job, and a second in the evening. Famed wildlife artist

Carl Rungius Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius (August 18, 1869 – October 21, 1959) was a leading American wildlife artist. He was born in Germany though he immigrated to the United States and he spent his career painting in the western United States and Can ...

had his

ashes Ashes may refer to: * Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), ...

scattered on the mountain, as he loved the view of Banff and the Bow Valley.

Geology

Tunnel Mountain gives its name to the Tunnel Mountain Formation, a

geological formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock expo ...

References

{{Canadian Rockies, state=collapsed Mountains of Banff National Park One-thousanders of Alberta Bison in culture

Etymology

History

Hiking

Geology

See also

References