Peak Finder

Photo: Looking west-northwest to Mount Whyte (left) and Mount Niblock from the Bow Valley Parkway

Mount Whyte

  • 2983 m (9,787ft)
  • First Ascent
  • Naming History
  • Hiking and Trails
51.4086N -116.271W
Located between upper Lake Louise Valley and the head of Lake Agnes Valley; 1.2 kilometres south of Mount Niblock

Province: Alberta
Park: Banff
Headwater: Bow
Visible from Highway: 1
Ascent Date: 1901
Ascent Party: C. Kaufmann, C. Klucker, J. Pollinger
Year Named: 1898
Named by: Walter Wilcox
Named for: Whyte, Sir William Methuen (After working for the Grand Trunk Railway for twenty years, William White joined the CPR in 1884 and held various titles during the building of the railway. He became Vice President in 1910.)
Popular Hike: Lakes Louise/Moraine/O'Hara
Journal Reference: CAJ 19-158

Together with neighbouring Mount Niblock, Mount Whyte is the backdrop to the cirque that contains Lake Agnes and is one of the peaks in the immediate Lake Louise area. The first ascent was completed in 1901 by three of the guides who travelled to the Canadian Rockies with Edward Whymper, the Swiss climber who made the first ascent of the Matterhorn. The popular trail to Lake Agnes leads one into the cirque that lies below Mount Whyte and Mount Niblock. Sir William Methuen Whyte worked for the Grand Trunk Railway for twenty years prior to joining the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1884. He held various titles during the building of the railway and became Vice President in 1910.

Photo: Looking west to Mount Whyte from Fairview Mountain

Photo: Mount Whyte from the Trans-Canada Highway at Lake Louise

Photo: Mount Whyte from Lake Agnes (courtesty David Wasserman)

Photo: Looking west-northwest to Mount Whyte (left), The Beehive, and Mount Niblock from Lake Louise

Looking southwest to Mount Whyte from Mount St. Piran

Photo: Looking west to Mount Whyte and Mount Niblock

Looking west-northwest to Mount Whyte (left), The Beehive, and Mount Niblock from Lake Louise

Looking southwest to Mount Whyte from Mount St. Piran