Mount Smuts

Mountain in the country of Canada
Mount Smuts is located in Alberta
Mount Smuts
Mount Smuts
Location of Mount Smuts in Alberta
Show map of Alberta
Mount Smuts is located in Canada
Mount Smuts
Mount Smuts
Mount Smuts (Canada)
Show map of Canada
LocationAlberta, CanadaParent rangeSpray Mountains
Canadian RockiesTopo mapNTS 82J14 Spray Lakes Reservoir[3]GeologyAge of rockCambrianType of rockLimestoneClimbingFirst ascent1926 M. Crosby, M. Kennard, H. S. Crosby, C. A. Willard, Rudolph Aemmer[1]Easiest routeScrambling[4]

Mount Smuts is a 2,938-metre (9,639-foot) mountain summit located in the Spray Valley, near the northern end of the Spray Mountains range. It is situated on the shared boundary of Peter Lougheed Provincial Park with Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. Mount Smuts is not visible from any road in Banff Park, however, it can be seen from Alberta Highway 742, also known as Smith-Dorrien/Spray Trail in Kananaskis Country. Mount Smuts' nearest higher neighbor is Mount Birdwood, 2.8 km (1.7 mi) to the south-southeast.[1]


History

Mount Smuts was named by the Interprovincial Boundary Commission in 1918 for General (later Field Marshal) Jan Smuts (1870–1950), a noted South African and Imperial statesman and mountaineer.[5] During World War I, he led the armies of South Africa against Germany, capturing German South-West Africa and commanding the British Army in East Africa in 1916-1917.[6][7]

The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1924 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[3]

The first ascent of the peak was made in 1926 by M. Crosby, M. Kennard, H. S. Crosby, C. A. Willard, with guide Rudolph Aemmer.[7]

Geology

Mount Smuts is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.[8] Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[9]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Smuts is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[10] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. In terms of favorable weather, July through September are the best months to climb. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains west into Spray River, or east to Smuts Creek, both of which empty into Spray Lakes Reservoir.

Climbing

Mount Smuts is a difficult and exposed scramble on limestone slabs via the south ridge, and very few parties successfully summit each year.[4] Rope is recommended for anything less than ideal conditions.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Mount Smuts". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  2. ^ "Mount Smuts, Alberta". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  3. ^ a b c "Mount Smuts". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  4. ^ a b Alan Kane (1999). "Mount Smuts". Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies. Rocky Mountain Books. p. 128. ISBN 0-921102-67-4.
  5. ^ Imperial ecology: environmental order in the British Empire, 1895–1945, Peder Anker Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2001 ISBN 0-674-00595-3
  6. ^ Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: Geographic Board of Canada. 1928. p. 117.
  7. ^ a b "Mount Smuts". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Gadd, Ben (2008). Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias.
  10. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.

Gallery

  • North aspect viewed from Tent Ridge
    North aspect viewed from Tent Ridge
  • Mount Smuts seen from Spray Lake
    Mount Smuts seen from Spray Lake
  • Mount Smuts (left) and The Fist seen from Smith-Dorrien Road
    Mount Smuts (left) and The Fist seen from Smith-Dorrien Road

External links

  • Mount Smuts weather: Mountain Forecast
  • CBC News: 2018 fatality on Mt. Smuts
Places adjacent to Mount Smuts
  • v
  • t
  • e
Ranges
Mountains
Passes
Glaciers
Rivers
see List of rivers of the Canadian Rockies and Category:Rivers of the Canadian Rockies
Peoples
Parks and protected areas
International
National
Provincial (AB)
Provincial (BC)
Ski resorts
Communities
Ecozone and ecoregions
CEC ecozones
WWF ecoregions
See also
Geography portal
Canada portal
  • v
  • t
  • e
Life
Jan Smuts
Other
Books
Concepts
Related