"There is a wonderful fascination about mountains. Their massive grandeur, majesty of lofty height, splendour of striking outline - crag to pinnacle and precipice - seem to appeal to both the intellect and to the innermost soul of man, and to compel a mingled reverence and love."

Written by James Outram, who explored and climbed in the Canadian Rockies during the late 1800s and early 1900s, these words sum up the feelings of many of those who enjoy a mountain panorama. To be able to recognize the various peaks and to understand how they relate to one another and to geography as a whole is a source of great pleasure.

However, there is another component to a complete understanding of the mountain panoramas that was not mentioned by the surveyor, perhaps because of his professional focus but more likely because of the fact that he was an explorer and a pioneer. Knowing the history that is associated with these peaks and learning about those who named them adds immensely to one's enjoyment. The names that were chosen provide a window into the past, reflecting what was important to these early visitors as well as to Canadian society itself at that point in time.

The views described are naturally framed panoramas from points of view that are easily accessible to everyone.
There is no question there are innumerable fine viewpoints that may be reached by hiking the trails or climbing the mountains. But we all drive the highways, and even those who do so to reach the trailheads enjoy the views along the way.

All Canadians and our visitors are attracted to the Canadian Rockies by their rugged beauty, their sense of permanence and the quiet pleasures they bring. I hope you will take this book along with you on your travels and that you will take time to stop at the viewpoints to read about these splendid mountains of ours and the people and history associated with them.

"Pleasant too, is the recognition of 'Old Friends' among the near or distant summits. They are friends indeed, and happy is the man who has many such".

As much of the history related to our Alberta Rockies is associated with the process of naming the mountains, some background is required on the groups and individuals who were involved in a few definable stages in this process.
The vast majority of mountains were named either by the native Indians, members of the Palliser Expedition, George Dawson, various individuals involved in the building and management of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the early climbers and the Interprovincial Boundary surveyors.

The Native Peoples
Although many of the prominent peaks must have been assigned names by the aboriginals, few of these remain. The ones that do are generally descriptive such as Nihahi (rocky) Ridge. Other mountains were assigned Indian names by non-natives. Hungabee (chieftain) and the original names for the mountains in the Valley of the Ten Peaks fall into this category.

The Palliser Expedition
From 1857 to 1860 Captain John Palliser led a group of scientists into what was then virtually unknown territory lying west of what is now Manitoba. Known as the British North American Exploring Expedition, it was charged by the government of the day with the task of exploring, studying and mapping the southern passes through the Rockies and the plains between the North Saskatchewan River and the American border.

John Palliser's background was hunting and wilderness travel in the western United States. He was delegated to organize and lead the expedition but the real work was to be done by respected British scientists in the area of geology, botany, zoology, climatology and geography.

It is difficult to imagine the expedition approaching the front ranges of the Rockies without any sort of map and with virtually all the features unnamed. The vastness of this unknown land and their task must have at times seemed overwhelming and it is not surprising that Palliser chose to split his group into three smaller parties upon reaching the mountains. Lieutenant Thomas Blakiston, the expedition's 'magnetic observer,' travelled south to the vicinity of Waterton Lakes, then crossed the Kootenay and South Kootenay passes. Palliser himself travelled to the headwaters of the Kananaskis River and down the Palliser River to the Kootenay. Dr. James Hector, the expedition's surgeon and geologist, rode up the Bow Valley and over Vermilion and Kicking Horse passes, and explored the North Saskatchewan Valley, Howse Pass and the Athabasca River.

The Palliser Expedition produced some of the first maps of Alberta's mountainous areas and named many of the prominent features. Generally, the names chosen were those of respected fellow scientists such as one member’s anatomy professor at the University of Edinburgh, government officials who supported the expedition such as the governor general of the day, and fellow explorers of the era such as David Livingstone. At times, however, the chosen names related to the appearance of a mountain, such as Molar Mountain, or were named after a bird or animal seen nearby.

George Dawson
Said to be one of the most outstanding scientists Canada has ever produced, George Dawson conducted the first government of Canada survey of the mountains of southern Alberta. Following the Palliser Expedition, any surveying work in the Rockies had been sponsored by the CPR and focused on finding a route through the mountain barrier for the railway. Dr. Dawson's task was more general in nature: to determine the courses of the major rivers and the locations of the main peaks and passes.

George Dawson had a reputation for excellence, his maps containing information phenomenally complete and accurate. The quality of his work was the result of tremendous physical effort in the field despite his short stature complicated by a chronic chest weakness and a back humped by a childhood accident. His biographer, Joyce Barkhouse, wrote that he was, "Possessed of boundless enthusiasm, he seemed never to hunger or tire. He could work all day on a tin of beans and a handful of berries, and expected others to do the same."

During 1884 and 1885 George Dawson travelled extensively through the Rockies. His first summer's work in the mountains began in early July and by the end of the season he had travelled through the country south of Crowsnest Pass to the headwaters of the Oldman River, up the Kootenay and Columbia valleys to the present site of Golden, then through the Kicking Horse Pass and down the Bow River valley. His second summer's studies began in early June and took him from the Bow Valley to the headwaters of the Kananaskis River and south again to the Crowsnest Pass, returning to the Bow Valley in late July. The month of August was spent covering the area from south of Mount Assiniboine to Kicking Horse Pass. During September his party studied the area north of Castle Junction to the Red Deer Valley and west to the headwaters of the Bow River.

Approximately 1000 km were travelled during the two seasons, a remarkable effort considering the general lack of trails. As well, Dr. Dawson would have constantly been stopping and taking side trips for his scientific work.
Appointed director of the Geologic Survey of Canada shortly after his summers in the Rockies, Dr. Dawson's work took him to many other parts of the country. His name is to be found on maps and in numerous reports ranging west from the Alberta Rockies through British Columbia to the Queen Charlotte Islands, and north to the Yukon.

The Canadian Pacific Railway
As the surveying, construction and development along the main line of the CPR proceeded during the last two decades of the nineteenth century, most of the significant features along the route were named. Some honoured prominent visitors of the day such as Sir John A. Macdonald's wife who enjoyed the views from the cowcatcher of a locomotive as she travelled over Kicking Horse Pass. Others were named after important railway officials such as the CPR’s first president.

The Early Climbers
Following the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, the word spread that innumerable unnamed and unclimbed mountains rose for hundreds of kilometres on both sides of the tracks. Before long, mountaineers began exploring and climbing both in the regions near to the railway and in the unexplored areas to the north and south. Generally focusing on the high peaks of the Continental Divide, they too had an opportunity to name mountains. This was still the Victorian age and these mountaineers were generally well-read individuals, often university professors, whose interests went far beyond climbing mountains. They often named peaks after fellow mountaineers who had gained fame in the Alps and Himalayas, after the packers, hunters and guides who accompanied their expeditions and sometimes after each other.

Arthur Wheeler and the Boundary Surveyors
Those involved in the survey that established the 1000 km-long Continental Divide were responsible for the naming of more peaks than any other group. The survey was begun in 1913 and continued every summer until 1924. It was a major effort that involved much detailed mapping in the areas adjacent to the border as well as the actual delineation of the boundary itself.

R. W. Cautley was the Alberta representative on the survey and was responsible for the detailed work required in and near the passes. The British Columbia representative was Arthur Wheeler who had previously completed some detailed surveys in the Selkirks and was assigned the mapping in the high mountains between the passes.

Arthur Wheeler became the man most associated with this project. As well as having a professional interest in travelling through the mountains, Wheeler was a co-founder of the Alpine Club of Canada. Through his involvement with the Boundary Survey and the Alpine Club over four decades, he probably saw more of the Canadian Rockies than any other person.

As much of the survey's work was done during and immediately following the First World War when patriotism was at its height, many of the chosen names relate to this conflict. Mountains were named after warships, war heroes, songs of the era, generals and admirals and little known soldiers who had left the survey and lost their lives overseas.