The Fortress is perhaps the most spectacular peak seen while driving up the Kananaskis River Valley. The names of the vast majority of the mountains in the Canadian Rockies begin with "Mount" or end with "Mountain." It is in keeping with the distinct character of this peak that its name is somewhat unique in that it begins with "The." In the early summer, when the slopes of the high ridge in the foreground are emerald green and with The Fortress's vertical cliffs rising symmetrically to the flat-topped summit, this is one of the most picturesque and aptly named peaks in the Kananaskis Valley. Once known as The Tower, it was renamed because of possible confusion with a peak known as The Towers whose name dated back to 1885. This mountain is located in the Mount Assiniboine area to the west of Wonder Pass. Despite the name of the ski resort nearby, Fortress Mountain is a high peak on the Continental Divide north of the east end of Fortress Lake (sixty kilometres south of Jasper). *A hiking route to the summit is described in Gillean Daffern's Kananaskis Country Trail Guide.