Mount Kidd is a double-summit

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

centrally located in

Kananaskis Country Kananaskis Country (abbreviated: K-Country) is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the Rocky Mountain Foothills, foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Its western edge borders Banff National Park and the Alberta-Br ...

in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () 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 of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

Alberta 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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Mount Kidd is situated within

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

, 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 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 and was purchase ...

which lies at the eastern base of the mountain.

History

In 1907, Dr. Donaldson Bogart Dowling, an engineer with the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...

, named the mountain for John Alfred (Fred) Kidd, who was a resident of nearby Morley, Alberta. From 1902 to 1907, Kidd ran the Morley

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

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 Canad ...

. In June 1986, Mount Kidd was the scene of the first of three related airplane crashes known as the Rescue 807 Crashes. 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 (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

laid down during the

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, 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 t ...

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 143.1 Mya. ...

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, 80 to 70 million years ago, and ended 55 to 35 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 o ...

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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Mount Kidd is located in a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental 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 ...

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 Ice climbing is a climbing discipline that involves ascending routes consisting entirely of frozen water. To ascend, the ice climber uses specialist equipment, particularly double ice axes (or the more modern ice tools) and rigid crampons. ...

. Precipitation runoff 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 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 ...

, and thence the

Saskatchewan River The Saskatchewan River (Cree: , "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining of the North Saskatchewan River and South Saskatchewan River just east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan ...

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 , whereas the lesser south peak rises to . 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: * 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 ...

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidd Alberta's Rockies Two-thousanders of Alberta Kananaskis Range