Photo: Looking north-northeast to Storm Mountain from Highwood Ridge
Storm Mountain (Kananaskis)
- 3095 m (10,155ft)
- Naming History
Located at the head of Storm Creek and at the head of Mist Creek
Range: Misty
Province: Alberta
Park: Kananaskis
Headwater: Bow
Major Valley: Highwood
Visible from Highway: 40S
Named by: George Dawson
Named for: The mountain was shrouded by Storm clouds for much of the time that Dr. Dawson was camped below it. (see notes below)
The mountain is said to have been named by George Dawson in 1884 after numerous storm clouds were seen on its summit. The government department which regulates place names attempts to avoid having the same name for two different features, particularly when they are fairly close to each other. In the case of the name "Storm Mountain" we have two of them only one hundred kilometres apart and both are said to have been named by George Dawson in the same year and for the same reason. An additional coincidence is that they are within five metres of each other in elevation. The other Storm Mountain is in the Vermillion Pass area of Banff and Radium National Park. Neither Storm Mountain appears on Dr. Dawson's 1886 map and it seems quite out of character, given his precise nature, that he named both these peaks as outlined above. However Storm Creek is noted on the map and must have been named at the time he visited the upper Highwood Valley and named the Misty Range and Mist Mountain. It seems likely that the mountain at the head of the creek subsequently took on the name of the creek. As a "calendar" or "postcard" mountain the Highwood Valley Storm Mountain cannot compete with the Vermilion Pass Storm Mountain which is somewhat isolated and very picturesque from the Bow Valley. However the Kananaskis Storm Mountain features a number of tight folds below the summit that are often highlighted as the snow melts off the mountain in the spring.