Mount Athabasca

Featured in National Parks of the World – February 22, 2009
Featured in Miniatures and Mammoths – February 20, 2009

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. Athabasca is the Cree Indian name for “where there are reeds” which originally referred to Lake Athabasca.
One of the most prominent features of Mount 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.

Mount Athabasca is described as the hydrographic apex of North America. That is, water from this mountain drains in three possible directions—west to the Pacific, east to the Atlantic and north to the Hudson.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Athabasca)
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT; Dynamic Photo HDR