Mount Chephren Explained

Mount Chephren
Elevation M:3266
Prominence M:443
Prominence Ref:[1]
Range:Waputik Mountains
Parent Peak:Howse Peak (3295 m)
Listing:Mountains of Alberta
Location:Alberta, Canada
Map:Canada Alberta
Map Size:225
Label Position:left
Coordinates:51.8403°N -116.6831°W
Coordinates Ref:[2]
Rock:Quartzite, Limestone, Dolomite
First Ascent:1913 by J.W.A. Hickson, guided by Edward Feuz jr.[3]
Easiest Route:Scramble (difficult) on south face

Mount Chephren is a mountain located in the Mistaya River Valley of Banff National Park, Canada.

Mount Chephren was named after Chephren, the 4th Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh. The mountain was originally named Pyramid Mountain in 1897 by J. Norman Collie, but it conflicted with an identically named peak in Jasper National Park, so it was renamed in 1924 to its present name.[3]

Routes

Scramble

Mount Chephren is rated a difficult scramble on the south face due to its steep upper slopes with possible snow and ice difficulties. Considerable snow on the route would likely require crampons and an ice axe, thereby pushing the climb into the realm of technical mountaineering. The best conditions for scrambling would normally be late July and August.

The trail head is located at the west end of the Waterfowl Lakes campground off the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park. The elevation gain from the trail head to the summit is 16300NaN0.

Technical

There are three main routes:[3]

Geology

Like other mountains in Banff Park, Mount Chephren is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.[4]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Chephren is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[5] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.

References

Notes

Notes and References

  1. 1704. Mount Chephren. 2013-05-18.
  2. IAMIL. Mount Chephren. 2013-05-18.
  3. 252. Mount Chephren. 2003-11-08.
  4. Book: Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias . Gadd, Ben . 2008.
  5. 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 . 10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 . free . 2007HESS...11.1633P . 1027-5606.