Pilot Mountain (Alberta)

Pilot Mountain is a mountain in the Bow River valley of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located southeast of Redearth Creek and directly west of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Pilot Mountain
Pilot Mountain from Pilot Pond
Highest point
Elevation2,935 m (9,629 ft)[1][2]
Prominence302 m (991 ft)[3]
Parent peakMount Brett (2984 m)[3]
ListingMountains of Alberta
Coordinates51°11′16″N 115°49′30″W / 51.18778°N 115.82500°W / 51.18778; -115.82500[4]
Geography
Pilot Mountain is located in Alberta
Pilot Mountain
Pilot Mountain
Location in Alberta
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Protected areaBanff National Park
Parent rangeMassive Range
Topo mapNTS 82O4 Banff[4]
Climbing
First ascent1885 by the GSC[2][3]
Easiest routeDifficult scramble[5]

The mountain was named in 1884 by George M. Dawson, for its location is where the Bow Valley changes direction, thus affording distant views of the mountain all along the valley.

Pilot Mountain can be scrambled on the northwest face by someone with good routefinding skills. Nearby Mount Brett (2,984 m (9,790 ft)) can be ascended from a ridge off the western slopes of Pilot Mountain.[5]

Geology

edit

Like other mountains in Banff Park, Pilot Mountain is composed of sedimentary rock laid down from the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.[6] Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[7]

 
Pilot Mountain seen from Sulphur Mountain

Climate

edit

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Pilot Mountain is located in a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[8] Temperatures can drop below -20 °C with wind chill factors below -30 °C.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Topographic map of Pilot Mountain". opentopomap.org. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  2. ^ a b "Pilot Mountain". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  3. ^ a b c "Pilot Mountain". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  4. ^ a b "Pilot Mountain (". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  5. ^ a b Kane, Alan (1999). "Pilot Mountain". Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies. Calgary: Rocky Mountain Books. pp. 206–207. ISBN 0-921102-67-4.
  6. ^ Belyea, Helen R. (1960). The Story of the Mountains in Banff National Park (PDF). parkscanadahistory.com (Report). Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  7. ^ Gadd, Ben (2008), Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias
  8. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L. & McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606. S2CID 9654551.

Further reading

edit
edit