Photo: Castleguard Mountain from the east on Castleguard Shoulder
Castleguard Mountain
- 3090 m (10,138ft)
- First Ascent
- Naming History
Located at the headwaters of the Castleguard River at the southwestern edge of Columbia Icefield
Province: Alberta
Park: Banff
Headwater: Saskatchewan
Ascent Party: Interprovincial Boundary Commission
Named by: Arthur Wheeler
Named for: Location/ Arthur Wheeler felt that, as well as having a castle-like appearance, the mountain seemed to stand guard over the southern portion of the Columbia Icefield.
In his 1925 book, "Roof of the Rockies," Lewis Freeman described the view from the summit of Castleguard Mountain as follows, "Possibly lacking the sheer breath-taking wonder of the first sight of Kinchinjunga's snows from Darjeeling, the view from the summit of Castleguard is still one of the great mounain panoramas of the world. Set on the southern rim of the Columbia Icefields, with no other peak encroaching on its domain for many miles, there are no masking barriers close at hand to cut off the view in any direction. Not only are almost all the great peaks of the Canadian Rockies system notched into the splendid panorama, but also many of those of the Selkirk and Gold Ranges, far beyond the purple-shadowed depths that mark the great gorge of the Columbia River."
Photo: Looking southwest up the Saskatchewan Glacier to Castleguard Mountain from Parker Ridge