Tunnel Mountain

Elevation: 1692 m
Elevation Gain: 300 m
Tunnel Mountain was originally referred to as Sleeping Buffalo Mountain by the Stoney people. In 1858, James Hector appropriately named the small peak “The Hill.” Later in 1882, a team of surveyors working to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway proposed building a 275 m tunnel through the mountain to do so. The tunneling idea was ill-conceived and described as the “most extraordinary blunder ever known in the way of engineering.” Although the tunnel was never built, the peak was officially named Tunnel Mountain. Today, the peak is a popular hike from the Banff town site.
My Ascents:
December 22, 2012
Trailhead: Tunnel Mountain Parking

Brianne and I made Saturday plans to meet with a couple of potential wedding photographers in Banff and I was delegated the responsibility of scheduling the meetings. As such, I made sure to leave a couple of hours free in between the two meetings to potentially bag a small peak like Tunnel Mountain. Tunnel Mountain may not be a particularly impressive peak but a summit’s a summit and I was keen to bag my 35th peak of the year before December 31. Despite the high of -19 degrees Celsius, Brianne and Crux gamely joined me for the pleasant snowy walk to the summit.

Plenty of interesting trees (since you never break the tree line of Tunnel Mountain) highlighted against the cold blue skies on ascent.

Crux getting his whiskers all frosty.

Great views of Mounts Inglismaldie, Girouard and Peechee across the Bow Valley.

Impressive views of the sheer north face of Mount Rundle.

The quickly freezing Bow River winds its way along the Banff Springs golf course at the base of Tunnel Mountain.

Brianne exhausted on the summit from the arduous ascent.

Cloudier skies beyond the Banff town site and Mount Norquay.

35th summit of the year! Not the most impressive but hey, they all count!

Rundle: just a little higher than Tunnel...

A wintery family summit photo.

Fading sunlight on Goatview Peak. Time to get back down to Banff for a hot chai tea while we still have feeling in our fingers, toes and paws. Merry Christmas and a happy new year all!