Mount Balfour

Mount Balfour is a mountain located on the Continental Divide, part of the border between British Columbia and Alberta, in the Waputik Range in the Park Ranges of the Canadian Rockies.[1][3] It is the 71st highest peak in Alberta[8] and the 113th highest in British Columbia;[9] it is also the 52nd most prominent in Alberta.

For the mountain on the Antarctic Peninsula, see Mount Balfour (Antarctica).
Mount Balfour
Mount Balfour from Iceline Trail
Highest point
Elevation3,272 m (10,735 ft)[1][2]
Prominence934 m (3,064 ft)[3]
Parent peakHowse Peak (3295 m)[3]
Listing
Coordinates51°33′55″N 116°27′58″W[4][5]
Geography
Mount Balfour is located in Alberta
Mount Balfour
Mount Balfour
Location in Alberta
Mount Balfour is located in British Columbia
Mount Balfour
Mount Balfour
Mount Balfour (British Columbia)
CountryCanada
ProvincesAlberta and British Columbia
Protected areas
Parent rangeWaputik Range
Topo mapNTS 82N9 Hector Lake[5]
Climbing
First ascent1898 C.L. Noyes, C.S. Thompson, G.M. Weed; Appalachian Mountain Club[6][7]

The mountain was named by James Hector in 1859 after Professor John Hutton Balfour, a Scottish botanist and instructor at the University of Edinburgh where Hector had studied.[4]

Climbing History

Early attempts to climb the mountain were made from Niles Pass via Sherbrooke Lake.[7] The first ascent was made on August 18, 1898, by C.L. Noyes, C.S. Thompson, G.M. Weed; members of the Appalachian Mountain Club. The party started their ascent from Hector Lake which they had reached by crossing Dolomite Pass to Bow Lake and then continuing south. C.E. Fay had also attempted the mountain in 1898 via the Sherbrooke Lake/Niles Pass approach but were eventually turned back by poor weather and inexperience.[6] Parties from the ACC completed ascents of Balfour in 1909 via Sherbrooke Lake, Niles Pass, Daly Glacier and then summitting via the SE arête.[7]

Geology

Mount Balfour is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.[10] Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[11]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Balfour is located in a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[12] Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.

  • Mt. Balfour approach to col off to the left
    Mt. Balfour approach to col off to the left
  • Mt. Balfour from Ski Louise ski resort
    Mt. Balfour from Ski Louise ski resort

See also

References
  1. "Mount Balfour". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  2. "Topographic map of Mount Balfour". opentopomap.org. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  3. "Mount Balfour". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  4. "Mount Balfour". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  5. "Mount Balfour (BC)". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  6. "Waputik Icefield". bivouac.com. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  7. Thorington, J. Monroe (1966) [1921]. "Kicking Horse Pass to Howse Pass". A Climber's Guide to the Rocky Mountains of Canada. With the collaboration of Putnam, William Lowell (6th ed.). American Alpine Club. pp. 136–137. ISBN 978-1376169003.
  8. "Peaks in Alberta by height". bivouac.com. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  9. "List of peaks in BC". bivouac.com. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  10. Belyea, Helen R. (1960). The Story of the Mountains in Banff National Park (PDF). parkscanadahistory.com (Report). Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  11. Gadd, Ben (2008), Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias
  12. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L. & McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.
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