Mount Temple (Alberta)

---

title: "Mount Temple (Alberta)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bow-range", "mountains-of-banff-national-park", "three-thousanders-of-alberta"] description: "Mountain in Banff NP, Canada" topic_path: "general/bow-range" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Temple_(Alberta)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain in Banff NP, Canada ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Mount Temple
photo	Mount_Temple.jpg
photo_caption	North face of Mt. Temple from Mt. Fairview
elevation_m	3544
elevation_ref
prominence_m	1544
prominence_ref
range	Bow Range
listing	{{unbulleted list
country	Canada
map	Alberta
map_caption	Location in Alberta
map_size	200
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	8
mapframe-caption	Interactive map of Mount Temple
coordinates
coordinates_ref
topo_map	NTS
type	Quartzite and limestone
age	550 million years
first_ascent	1894 by Walter Wilcox, Samuel Allen and L.F. Frissel
easiest_route	Scramble (SW)
::

| name = Mount Temple | photo = Mount_Temple.jpg | photo_caption = North face of Mt. Temple from Mt. Fairview | elevation_m = 3544 | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = 1544 | prominence_ref = | range = Bow Range | listing = {{unbulleted list | Mountains of Alberta | Canada highest major peaks 37th | Canada prominent peaks 128th | Ultra | country = Canada | region_type = Province | region = Alberta | map = Alberta | map_caption = Location in Alberta | map_size = 200 | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 8 | mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Mount Temple | coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo_map = NTS | type = Quartzite and limestone | age = 550 million years | first_ascent = 1894 by Walter Wilcox, Samuel Allen and L.F. Frissel | easiest_route = Scramble (SW)

Mount Temple is a mountain in Banff National Park of the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada.

Mt. Temple is located in the Bow River Valley between Paradise Creek and Moraine Creek and is the highest peak in the Lake Louise area. The peak dominates the western landscape along the Trans-Canada Highway from Castle Junction to Lake Louise.

History

The mountain was named by George Mercer Dawson in 1884 after Sir Richard Temple who visited the Canadian Rockies that same year. Mt. Temple was the first 11000 ft peak to be climbed in the Canadian segment of the Rocky Mountains.

Climbing

;Accidents

• On July 11, 1955, in one of Canada's most tragic mountaineering accidents, seven American male teenagers were killed on the southwest ridge route. A warm summer day had caused several nearby avalanches. They finally decided to turn back and during the descent, an avalanche swept 10 members of the party 200 m down the snowfield through a bottleneck of rocks. The entire party only had one ice axe among them and were not well prepared for the seriousness of the route. The party had also gone up the route without either of their two group leaders.
• On Sept. 25, 2015, Jen Kunze, an avid runner and hiker from Calgary, Ab. fell to her death.
• On July 11, 2022, Matt Miller, a man from Edmonton fell to his death while hiking with a group of experienced hikers. ;Routes The mountain offers several routes for climbers and the normal route on the southwest side offers a moderate class scrambling route. See Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies for a description of that route.
• South-West Ridge (Normal Route) (I)
  • By late July or early August, the southwest ridge is generally free of snow and is a moderate scramble for experienced parties.
• East Ridge (IV 5.7)
• North Face, Elzinga/Miller (IV 5.7)
• North Face, Geenwood/Locke (V, AI 2, 5.8, A2 or 5.10+ R or M6)
• North East Buttress, Greenwood/Jones (V, 5.7, A3 or 5.10) One of the most secure routes on the north side of the mountain. Free climbed in August 1983, René Boisselle and Bernard Faure.

Current route conditions can be obtained from a climbing warden at the park information centre in Lake Louise. A climber's log outside the centre may also provide comments from other climbers.

;First Ascent

• August 17, 1894 Walter D. Wilcox, Samuel E. S. Allen and Lewis Frissell This was the first ascent of a peak above 11000 ft in the Canadian Rockies.

;First Winter Ascent

• January 2, 1969 James Jones and Dave Haley via the Southwest Ridge

Gallery

Mount Temple in winter.jpg|Mount Temple in winter

References

| title=1955 Accident Report|publisher=Alpine Club of Canada - Edmonton Section|access-date=2003-12-14 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211418/http://alpineclub-edm.org/accidents/accident.asp?id=601 | archive-date=2007-09-27}} | title = Mt Temple North-East Buttress | author = Boisselle, René | publisher = Alpine Club of Canada | location = Banff, AB | url = http://library.alpineclubofcanada.ca:8009/book-acc.php?id=CAJ067-1-1984#page/130/mode/1up | access-date = 2019-09-08 }} | title = Calgary woman dies in a fall on Mount Temple in Banff National Park | publisher = Calgary Herald | date = 2015-09-26 | access-date = 2019-05-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150926225329/https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-woman-dies-after-fall-during-hike-on-mount-temple | archive-date= 26 September 2015 | url-status = live}} | title = Woman dies while hiking Mount Temple near Lake Louise | publisher = CBC News | date = 2015-09-26 | access-date = 2019-05-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053041/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/woman-dies-while-hiking-mount-temple-near-lake-louise-1.3245157 | archive-date= 2015-09-28 | url-status = live}} | publisher=Rocky Mountain Books|location=Calgary|year=1999|isbn=0-921102-67-4|pages=235–236}} | author = Patton, Brian | publisher = McClelland & Stewart | isbn = 978-0771069482}} | author1 = Thorington, J. Monroe | publisher = American Alpine Club | isbn = 978-1376169003 | others = With the collaboration of Putnam, William Lowell | year = 1966 | orig-year = 1921 | pages = 111–112 | chapter = Vermilion Pass to Kicking Horse Pass | edition = 6th}} | title = Edmonton man dies after hiking fall on Mount Temple | publisher = Calgary Herald | date = 2022-07-11 | access-date = 2024-08-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220711231249/https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/hiker-dies-after-fall-on-mount-temple | archive-date= 2022-07-11 | url-status = live}}

References

1. {{cite bivouac
2. The Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 52, 1969. page 68
3. {{cite crdb

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