Mount Lawrence Grassi is the tallest peak of the Ehagay Nakoda

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

, a multi-peaked mountain located immediately south of the town of Canmore just east of the Spray Lakes road in

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 ...

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 ...

. The mountain sports two other subsidiary peaks with commemorative names:

Ha Ling Peak Ha Ling Peak is a peak at the northwestern end of Ehagay Nakoda — a mountain located immediately south of the town of Canmore just east of the Spray Lakes road in Alberta's Canadian Rockies. It was previously named Chinaman's Peak but t ...

on the northwestern end, and Miners Peak located southeast of Ha Ling Peak between Ha Ling Peak and Mount Lawrence Grassi. Another peak on the mountain is named Ship's Prow, which is on the Southeastern end of the mountain. The mountain is separated from

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 ...

by Whiteman's Gap, and is separated to the South from The Three Sisters by Three Sisters Pass. The peak is named for

Lawrence Grassi Andrea Lorenzo Grassi (20 December 1890 – 5 February 1980) was an Italian miner known as Lawrence Grassi. He moved to Canada in 1912, taking on work with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), before settling down in Canmore, Alberta, in 1916. Ther ...

(1890–1980), an Italian miner who emigrated to Canada in 1912. After working with the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , 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 Canadi ...

for several years he worked in the Canmore coal mines. Grassi also became a well-respected climbing guide as well as building many trails in the area including one to the Grassi Lakes which also bear his name.

Name Change

Ehagay Nakoda was formerly named Mount Lawrence Grassi, but the name was changed along with renaming Ha Ling Peak. In 1998, the name of the massif was changed to Ehagay Nakoda, meaning "The last Nakoda" ("The last human being"), which is derived from a Stoney Nakoda origin story about the mountain's creation. This traditional story told of a Nakoda who was transformed into a mountain by Iktomni (the Trickster, or the Old Man) so that they would remain on this Earth long after human beings cease to inhabit it. The story was submitted by a local Stoney Nakoda Edler, Peter Lazarus Wesley, for the renaming of Chinaman's Peak, but the decision was made to rename the entire massif while also changing the name of Chinaman's Peak to Ha Ling Peak. To respect the history of Lawrence Grassi and the former name of the mountain, the tallest peak was named Mount Lawrence Grassi.

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Mount Lawrence Grassi is located in a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a 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 an ocean, ge ...

with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Winter temperatures can drop below -20 °C with wind chill factors below -30 °C.

Gallery

File:Mount Lawrence Grassi, Canmore, Trans-Canada Highway.jpg, Ehagay Nakoda rises above Canmore File:Bow River - panoramio (2).jpg, Ehagay Nakoda, with four named peaks: Ship's Prow (far left), Mount Lawrence Grassi (centre), Miners Peak (right), and Ha Ling Peak (far right)

References

Two-thousanders of Alberta Alberta's Rockies {{AlbertaRockies-geo-stub

Name Change

Climate

Gallery

See also

References