{{short description|Mountain in Canadian Rockies}} {{for|the mountain on the Antarctic Peninsula|Mount Balfour (Antarctica)}} {{Infobox mountain | name= Mount Balfour | image= Mount Balfour, Yoho Valley.jpg | image_caption= Mount Balfour from Iceline Trail | elevation_m= 3272 | elevation_ref=<ref name=peakfinder>{{cite peakfinder |id= 79 |name=Mount Balfour |access-date= 2019-08-20}}</ref><ref name=opentopomap/> | prominence_m= 934 | prominence_ref=<ref name=bivouac>{{cite bivouac|id= 1675 |title=Mount Balfour|access-date=2009-02-21}}</ref> | range= Waputik Range | parent_peak= Howse Peak (3295&nbsp;m)<ref name=bivouac/> | listing = {{unbulleted list | Mountains of Alberta | Mountains of British Columbia}} | subdivision1_type= Provinces | subdivision1= {{enum|Alberta|British Columbia}} | country= Canada | part_type = Protected&nbsp;areas | part = {{unbulleted list|Banff National Park|Yoho National Park}} | map= Alberta#British Columbia#Canada | map_caption= Location in Alberta##Location in British Columbia##Location in Canada | label_position= right#left | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 8 | mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Mount Balfour | coordinates= {{coord|51|33|55|N|116|27|58|W|type:mountain_region:CA_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref=<ref name=bcgnis>{{cite bcgnis|id= 11043|title=Mount Balfour|access-date= 2013-06-15}}</ref><ref name=cgndb/> | topo_map= NTS {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|82|N|09}}<ref name=cgndb/> | first_ascent= 1898 C.L. Noyes, C.S. Thompson, G.M. Weed; Appalachian Mountain Club<ref name=bivouac_waputik/><ref name=Thorington1966/> | easiest_route= }}

'''Mount Balfour''' is a mountain located on the Continental Divide, part of the border between British Columbia and Alberta, in the Waputik Range in the Park Ranges of the Canadian Rockies.<ref name=peakfinder/><ref name=bivouac/> It is the 71st highest peak in Alberta<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bivouac.com//PeaksInProvince.asp?rq=ShowPage&ProvxCode=AB&Order=Height&MinHeight=&MaxHeight=&MinProm=0&MaxProm=&Units=meters&Columns=Short&LatLong_Format=DMS&MaxPeaks=100&EditMode=Edit|title=Peaks in Alberta by height|publisher=bivouac.com|access-date=2019-08-26}}</ref> and the 113th highest in British Columbia;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bivouac.com//PeaksInProvince.asp?rq=ShowPage&ProvxCode=BC&Order=Height&MinHeight=&MaxHeight=&MinProm=0&MaxProm=&Units=meters&Columns=Short&LatLong_Format=DMS&MaxPeaks=200&EditMode=Edit | title = List of peaks in BC|publisher=bivouac.com|access-date=2019-08-26}}</ref> it is also the 52nd most prominent in Alberta.

The mountain was named by James Hector in 1859 after Professor John Hutton Balfour, a Scottish botanist and instructor at the University of Edinburgh where Hector had studied.<ref name=bcgnis/>

== Climbing History == Early attempts to climb the mountain were made from Niles Pass via Sherbrooke Lake.<ref name=Thorington1966/> The first ascent was made on August 18, 1898, by C.L. Noyes, C.S. Thompson, G.M. Weed; members of the Appalachian Mountain Club. The party started their ascent from Hector Lake which they had reached by crossing Dolomite Pass to Bow Lake and then continuing south. C.E. Fay had also attempted the mountain in 1898 via the Sherbrooke Lake/Niles Pass approach but were eventually turned back by poor weather and inexperience.<ref name=bivouac_waputik/> Parties from the ACC completed ascents of Balfour in 1909 via Sherbrooke Lake, Niles Pass, Daly Glacier and then summitting via the SE arête.<ref name=Thorington1966/>

==Geology== Mount Balfour is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods.<ref name=Belyea1960>{{Belyea-Banff-NP}}</ref> Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.<ref name=gadd>{{citation|title=Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias |author=Gadd, Ben |year=2008}}</ref>

==Climate== Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Balfour is located in a subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. |name-list-style=amp | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 |issue=5 | pages = 1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P | issn = 1027-5606}}</ref> Temperatures can drop below −20&nbsp;°C with wind chill factors below −30&nbsp;°C.

==Gallery== <gallery> Mt. Balfour approach to col off to the left.jpg|Mt. Balfour approach to col off to the left Mt. Balfour from Ski Louise.jpg|Mt. Balfour from Ski Louise ski resort </gallery>

==See also== * List of peaks on the British Columbia–Alberta border * List of mountains in the Canadian Rockies

==References== <references>

<ref name=bivouac_waputik> {{cite web | title = Waputik Icefield | publisher = bivouac.com | url = https://bivouac.com//ArxPg.asp?ArxId=1127 | access-date = 2019-08-26}}</ref> <ref name=cgndb>{{cite cgndb|id=JATPF|name=Mount Balfour (BC)|access-date=2019-08-26}}</ref> <ref name=opentopomap> {{cite opentopomap|Mount Balfour|51.56556|-116.46528|2021-11-05}}</ref> <ref name=Thorington1966> {{cite book | title = A Climber's Guide to the Rocky Mountains of Canada | author1 = Thorington, J. Monroe | publisher = American Alpine Club | isbn = 978-1376169003 | others = With the collaboration of Putnam, William Lowell | year = 1966 | orig-year = 1921 | pages = 136–137 | chapter = Kicking Horse Pass to Howse Pass | edition = 6th}}</ref>

</references>

{{Canadian Rockies|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour}} Category:Three-thousanders of Alberta Category:Three-thousanders of British Columbia Category:Waputik Range Category:Great Divide of North America Category:Mountains of Banff National Park Category:Mountains of Yoho National Park