Mount Wilson is a mountain summit located in the
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...
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 ...
, 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 ...
of
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 ...
. Its nearest higher peak is
Mount Cline
Mount Cline is a mountain in western Alberta, Canada, north of Saskatchewan Crossing, southwest of Nordegg.
The mountain is located in the North Saskatchewan River Valley, west of Resolute Mountain. It was named in 1898 by J. Norman Colli ...
, to the northeast.
Mount Wilson is situated immediately north of the confluence of the
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...
,
Mistaya River
The Mistaya River is a short river in western Alberta, Canada. It flows through the Canadian Rockies, and a section of the Icefields Parkway was built along its course.
Mistaya River originates in Peyto Lake, a glacial lake of typical blue colour ...
, and
Howse River near
Saskatchewan Crossing, where the
Icefields Parkway
Highway 93 is a north–south highway in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway south of the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1) and the Icefields Parkway north of the Trans-Canada Highway. It travels through Banff Nat ...
intersects with the
David Thompson Highway.
__NOTOC__
History
Mount Wilson honours
Tom Wilson (1859–1933) who was an early explorer in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain was named in 1898 by
Norman Collie.
[ The ]first ascent
In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...
of the mountain was made in 1902 by James Outram and Christian Kaufmann.[ The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1924 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 ...
.[
]
Geology
Like other mountains in Banff Park, Mount Wilson 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 from 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 ...
to 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 west and south aspects of the mountain are characterized by rugged, rocky cliff bands, whereas the north and east aspects of Mount Wilson are covered by expansive glacial ice called the Wilson Icefield.
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 Wilson 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 Wilson one of the premier 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
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
runoff from Mount Wilson drains into tributaries of 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 ...
.
Ice Climbing Routes
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 Wilson:
* ''Dancing With Chaos'' – WI6Mount Wilson
Mountain Project
* ''Midnight Rambler'' – WI3
* ''Wilson Major'' – WI3-6[
* ''Lady Wilson's Right Tit'' – WI4][
* ''Lady Wilson's Cleavage'' – WI3][
* ''Totem Pole'' – WI5][
* ''Living in Paradise'' – WI6+][
* ''Suntori'' – WI6][
* ''Skinny Puppy'' – WI5][
* ''Phil Spectre's Nightmare'' – WI6][
* ''Mixed Monster'' – M8 WI5+][
]
Gallery
File:Icefields Parkway 08.jpg, Mt. Wilson from northbound Icefields Parkway
Highway 93 is a north–south highway in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway south of the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1) and the Icefields Parkway north of the Trans-Canada Highway. It travels through Banff Nat ...
File:Mount Wilson in Banff National Park, Canada.jpg, Mount Wilson
File:Mount Wilson's cliffs.jpg, Mount Wilson's lower cliffs seen from Saskatchewan Crossing
See also
*List of mountains in the Canadian Rockies
A list of highest mountains and peaks in the Canadian Rockies over is shown below. Sources for the elevation, prominence and first ascent can be found in their respective pages and/or Wikidata
Wikidata is a collaboratively edited multiling ...
*Geography of Alberta
Alberta is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. Located in Western Canada, the province has an area of and is bounded to the south by the United States state of Montana along 49° north for ; to the east at 110° west b ...
References
External links
* Parks Canada web site
Banff National Park
* Mount Wilson weather
Mountain Forecast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson
Three-thousanders of Alberta
Mountains of Banff National Park
Front Ranges
Alberta's Rockies