Mount Ball

Mount Ball is a mountain located on the Continental Divide, on the borders of Banff and Kootenay national parks in Western Canada. Mt. Ball is the highest peak of the Ball Range in the Canadian Rockies.

Mount Ball
Southeast aspect from Healy Pass
Highest point
Elevation	3,311 m (10,863 ft)[1][2]
Prominence	1,187 m (3,894 ft)[3]
Parent peak	Deltaform Mountain[4]
Isolation	23.16 km (14.39 mi)[5]
Listing	Mountains of Alberta Mountains of British Columbia
Coordinates	51°09′23″N 116°00′23″W[6]
Geography
Mount Ball Location on British Columbia / Alberta border Show map of British Columbia Mount Ball Mount Ball (Alberta) Show map of Alberta
Country	Canada
Provinces	Alberta and British Columbia
Parent range	Ball Range, Canadian Rockies
Topo map	NTS 82N1 Mount Goodsir
Climbing
First ascent	1904 by J.D. Patterson, guided by Christian & Hans Kaufmann[7][3]
Easiest route	Difficult Scramble[2]

The mountain was named in 1858 by James Hector after John Ball, a politician who helped secure funding for the Palliser expedition.^[8][9] The name was officially adopted in 1924 based on Palliser's 1863 map of British North America.^[6]

Mt. Ball can be ascended from a scrambling route by late summer but involves remote bushwhacking, which limits the number of attempts per year. The trailhead is located at the Marble Canyon Campground in Kootenay National Park.^[2]

Geology

Mount Ball is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.^[10]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Ball is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.^[11] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports glaciers on its slopes. Precipitation runoff from the east slope drains to the Bow River via Redearth Creek, and the west slope drains into tributaries of the Vermilion River .

East aspect of Mount Ball reflected in Shadow Lake

References

1. "Mount Ball". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2004-08-24.
2. Kane, Alan (1999). "Mount Ball". Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies. Calgary: Rocky Mountain Books. pp. 216–217. ISBN 0-921102-67-4.
3. "Mount Ball". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
4. "Saint Julien Mountain AB, BC - 10,144'". Lists of John. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
5. "Mount Ball, Alberta". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
6. "Mount Ball". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
7. Thorington, J. Monroe (1966) [1921]. "Simpson Pass to Vermilion Pass". A Climber's Guide to the Rocky Mountains of Canada. With the collaboration of Putnam, William Lowell (6th ed.). American Alpine Club. p. 52. ISBN 978-1376169003.
8. Boles, Glen W.; Laurilla, Roger W.; Putnam, William L. (2006). Canadian Mountain Place Names. Vancouver: Rocky Mountain Books. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-894765-79-4.
9. Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: Geographic Board of Canada. 1928. p. 14.
10. Gadd, Ben (2008), Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias
11. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606.