Mount Athabasca
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| Mount Athabasca | |
|---|---|
 North Glacier route on Mount Athabasca |
|
| Elevation | 3,491 m (11,453 ft) |
| Location | Alberta, Canada |
| Range | Canadian Rockies |
| Prominence | 671 metres (2,201 ft)[1] |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: [1] |
| Topo map | NTS 83C/03 |
| First ascent | 1898 by J. Norman Collie and Herman Woolley[2] |
| Easiest route | scramble/glacier/snow climb |
Mount Athabasca is located in the Columbia Icefield of Jasper National Park in Canada. The mountain was named in 1898 by J. Norman Collie, who made the first ascent on August 18 of that year.[2] Athabasca is the Cree Indian name for "where there are reeds" which originally referred to Lake Athabasca.
[edit] Routes
- North Glacier (Normal Route) II
- Silverhorn II
- Regular North Face III 5.4
- The Hourglass III 5.5
- North Ridge III 5.5
- The Hourglass 400m, III, AI3-4
One of the most prominent features of Mt. Athabasca, is a horned shaped tip near the top called the "Silverhorn". The Silverhorn is one of the easier routes to the summit but requires more caution and ability than the normal route because of blue ice and falling ice from other parties. Although not apparent from the typical roadside view of the mountain, the south side of Silverhorn actually contains a scrambling route but one must still cross the north glacier to get to it. From the top of the Silverhorn, the summit is a rather easy 15 minute plod over the narrow snow covered summit ridge. On a warm summer day, post-holing on the summit ridge is likely.
As of 2007, the regular North Face route has been upgraded to 5.8 mixed (by Barry Blanchard). The footing on the crux has melted off to reveal a few more meters of undercut rock. The quote was something like "It is much more difficult and serious than it was 20 years ago".[citation needed]
