Photo: Mount Sarrail (left) and Mount Foch from the west at Aster Lake (courtesy Rienk Lakeman)
Mount Foch
- 3180 m (10,434ft)
- First Ascent
- Naming History
Located on the continental divide 4 km south of Upper Kananaskis Lake
Province: Alberta/BC
Park: Kananaskis/Elk Lakes
Headwater: Bow/Kootenay
Major Valley: Kananaskis
Visible from Highway: 40S, 742
Ascent Party: Katie Gardiner
Ascent Guide: Walter Feuz
Named for: Foch, Marshall Ferdinand (Marshall Ferdinand Foch was the supreme commander of allied forces during the latter stages of WW I.)
Mount Foch was named after Marshall Ferdinand Foch, supreme commander of allied forces during the latter stages of The Great War. In March of 1918 a massive German offensive threatened Paris and the channel ports and it was at this point that Foch was appointed "Generalissimo." Known as the Somme Offensive, it was not immediately stopped but it is thought doubtful that any other commander could have held the Allies together as he did or recovered the military initiative as quickly. It is part of a group of peaks known as "The French Military Group."
Photo: Looking southwest to Mount Foch from Upper Kananaskis Lake
Looking southwest to Mount Foch (left) and Mount Sarrail from Highway #40