Mount Lady Macdonald

Mount Lady Macdonald is a mountain located within Bow Valley Provincial Park in the Bow River valley at the town of Canmore, which is located just east of Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Mount Lady Macdonald
Mount Lady Macdonald from Grotto Mountain (minor summit), October 2009
Highest point
Elevation	2,606 m (8,550 ft)[1]
Prominence	75 m (246 ft)[2]
Parent peak	Mount Charles Stewart (2809 m)[2]
Listing	Mountains of Alberta
Coordinates	51°07′17″N 115°19′04″W[2]
Geography
Mount Lady Macdonald Location in Alberta
Interactive map of Mount Lady Macdonald
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Protected area	Bow Valley Provincial Park
Parent range	Fairholme Range
Topo map	NTS 82O3 Canmore[3]
Climbing
First ascent	1886 by J.J. McArthur[2][1]
Easiest route	Scramble (difficult)[3]

The mountain was named in 1886 after Susan Agnes Macdonald, wife of Sir John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada. The Macdonalds travelled on the new national railway through the Canadian Rockies in 1886 on their way to Vancouver.^[3][2][1]

Hikers may hike a trail that begins in Cougar Creek and continues to a helipad just short of the knife's edge ridge that leads to the top of the mountain. On the top under a cairn there is a canister in which a pencil and a list of those who have climbed there are stored.

Geology

It is composed of sedimentary rock laid down from the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.^[4] Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.^[5]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, it is located in a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.^[6] Temperatures can drop below -20 C with wind chill factors below -30 C. Weather conditions during summer months are optimum for climbing.

Gallery

• 
  Mount Lady McDonald
• 
  Mount Lady McDonald (right) seen with Mount Charles Stewart (left)

See also

• Geology of Alberta