Mount Whyte
Encyclopedia
Mount Whyte is a mountain
in Alberta
, Canada
located in Banff National Park
, near Lake Louise
. The mountain can be seen from the Trans-Canada Highway
, and offers views of the Valley of the Ten Peaks
, including the Chateau Lake Louise
.
The mountain was named in 1898 by Sir William Methuen after William Whyte, a representative of the Canadian Pacific Railway
.
(2976 m (9,764 ft)) when done as a scramble
. However, while Mt. Niblock is rated a moderate scramble, Mt. Whyte is much more difficult due to additional exposure and loose rock. The scramble should not be attempted in snowy conditions due to considerable fall distance which would likely prove fatal. A route description can be found in Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies
.
For rock climbers, the Perren Route (II 5.6) is another option. While mostly a scramble as well, a short section of difficult climbing near the top in addition to route finding challenges and loose rock will not make it an easy ascent.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
located in Banff National Park
Banff National Park
Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The park, located 110–180 kilometres west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine...
, near Lake Louise
Lake Louise, Alberta
Lake Louise is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Improvement District No. 9 Banff . It is named for the nearby Lake Louise, which in turn was named after the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta , the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, and the wife of John Campbell, the 9th Duke of Argyll, who was the...
. The mountain can be seen from the Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
, and offers views of the Valley of the Ten Peaks
Valley of the Ten Peaks
Valley of the Ten Peaks is a valley in Banff National Park that is crowned by ten notable peaks and also includes Moraine Lake. The valley can be reached by following the Moraine Lake road near Lake Louise...
, including the Chateau Lake Louise
Chateau Lake Louise
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is a Fairmont Hotel on the eastern shore of Lake Louise, near Banff, Alberta. The original Chateau was gradually built up at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway and was thus "kin" to its predecessors, the Banff...
.
The mountain was named in 1898 by Sir William Methuen after William Whyte, a representative of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
.
Climbing
Mt. Whyte is usually combined with Mount NiblockMount Niblock
Mount Niblock is a mountain in Banff National Park near Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada.The mountain was named in 1904 after John Niblock, a superintendent with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Niblock was an early promoter of tourism in the Rockies and influenced the naming of some of the CPR stops in...
(2976 m (9,764 ft)) when done as a scramble
Scrambling
Scrambling is a method of ascending rocky faces and ridges. It is an ambiguous term that lies somewhere between hillwalking and rock climbing. It is often distinguished from hillwalking by defining a scramble as a route where hands must be used in the ascent...
. However, while Mt. Niblock is rated a moderate scramble, Mt. Whyte is much more difficult due to additional exposure and loose rock. The scramble should not be attempted in snowy conditions due to considerable fall distance which would likely prove fatal. A route description can be found in Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies
Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies
Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies is a book by Alan Kane describing scrambling routes of mountains in the Canadian Rockies.It is published by Rocky Mountain Books, located in Calgary, Alberta. The third edition , released in 1999, contains route descriptions for 156 peaks...
.
For rock climbers, the Perren Route (II 5.6) is another option. While mostly a scramble as well, a short section of difficult climbing near the top in addition to route finding challenges and loose rock will not make it an easy ascent.