Snow Dome, Mountain summit in Jasper National Park, Canada
Snow Dome is a 3,456 m (11,339 ft) mountain on the Continental Divide in the Columbia Icefield, where Banff and Jasper national parks meet the Alberta–British Columbia border. Its permanently snow- and ice-capped massif resembles a dome. Four glaciers leave the mountain: Dome Glacier to the north-east, Stutfield Glacier to the north-west, Columbia Glacier to the west and Athabasca Glacier to the east.
Snow Dome was named in 1898 by J. Norman Collie, who thought its permanently snow- and ice-covered massif resembled a dome. That same year Collie, Hugh Stutfield and Herman Woolley made the first ascent. The name thus refers to the mountain's shape, not to the climb.
The name comes from J. Norman Collie, who in 1898 compared the permanently snow- and ice-covered massif to a dome. The mountain's standing as a triple divide is what draws attention: rain or meltwater at the summit can end up in the Pacific, the Arctic or Hudson Bay. The other such apex in North America is Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Snow Dome lies on the Continental Divide at the junction of Banff and Jasper national parks, on the Alberta–British Columbia border, above the Columbia Icefield. Reaching the summit involves glacier travel from the icefield, so parties need rope, crevasse rescue gear and navigation skills. Approach is normally from the Icefields Parkway; the summit itself is a snow dome with no marked trail.
Snow Dome is one of North America's two hydrological apexes; the other is Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park, Montana. Its meltwater reaches the Pacific via the Bush and Columbia rivers, the Arctic via the Athabasca, and Hudson Bay via the North Saskatchewan.
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