{{Short description|Mountain in Alberta, Canada}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Mount Smuts | image = Mount Smuts West Aspect.jpg | image_caption = West aspect of Mount Smuts | elevation_m = 2938 | elevation_ref = <ref name=bivouac>{{cite bivouac|id=849|name= Mount Smuts |access-date=2018-12-31}}</ref><ref name=kane/> | prominence_m = 591 | prominence_ref = <ref name=bivouac/> | isolation_km = 2.8 | isolation_ref = <ref name="pb">{{cite peakbagger|id=31674|name=Mount Smuts, Alberta|accessdate=2021-02-24}}</ref> | range = Spray Mountains<br />Canadian Rockies- | parent_peak = Mount Birdwood (3,097&nbsp;m)<ref name=bivouac/> | listing = Mountains of Alberta | country = Canada | region_type = Province | region = Alberta | map = Canada Alberta#Canada | map_caption = Location in Alberta | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 8 | mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Mount Smuts | coordinates = {{coord|50|48|28|N|115|23|13|W|type:mountain_region:CA-AB_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = <ref name=cgndb>{{cite cgndb|id= IAJNK |name= Mount Smuts |access-date=2018-12-31}}</ref> | topo_maker = NTS | topo_map = {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|82|J|14}}<ref name=cgndb/> | rock = Limestone | age = Cambrian | first_ascent = 1926 M. Crosby, M. Kennard, H. S. Crosby, C. A. Willard, Rudolph Aemmer<ref name=bivouac/> | easiest_route = Scramble<ref name=kane>{{cite book|title=Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies|chapter=Mount Smuts|author=Alan Kane|year=1999|pages=110-111|isbn=0-921102-67-4|publisher=Rocky Mountain Books}}</ref> }}

'''Mount Smuts''' is a {{Convert|2938|m|ft|abbr=off|adj=on}} mountain summit located in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. It is set in the Spray Valley near the northern end of the Spray Mountains range. It is situated on the common boundary shared by Peter Lougheed Provincial Park with Banff National Park. Mount Smuts is not visible from any road in Banff Park, however it can be seen from Alberta Highway 742, also known as Smith-Dorrien/Spray Trail in Kananaskis Country. Mount Smuts' nearest higher neighbor is Mount Birdwood, {{convert|2.8|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the south-southeast.<ref name=bivouac/> __NOTOC__ ==History== Mount Smuts was named by the Interprovincial Boundary Commission in 1918 for General (later Field Marshal) Jan Smuts (1870–1950), a noted South African and British Imperial statesman and mountaineer.<ref name="Imperialecology">''Imperial ecology: environmental order in the British Empire, 1895–1945'', Peder Anker Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2001 {{ISBN|0-674-00595-3}}</ref> During World War I, he led the armies of South Africa against Germany, capturing German South-West Africa and commanding the British Army in East Africa in 1916-1917.<ref>{{cite book|title=Place-names of Alberta|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015070267029;view=1up;seq=121|year=1928|publisher=Geographic Board of Canada|location=Ottawa|page=117}}</ref><ref name="pf">{{cite peakfinder|id=1273|name=Mount Smuts|access-date=2019-10-08}}</ref>

The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1924 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.<ref name=cgndb/>

The first ascent of the peak was made in 1926 by M. Crosby, M. Kennard, H. S. Crosby, C. A. Willard, with guide Rudolph Aemmer.<ref name="pf"/>

==Geology== Mount Smuts 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>{{cite book|title=Geology of the Rocky Mountains and Columbias |author=Gadd, Ben |year=2008}}</ref>

==Climate== Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Smuts is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | 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> Winter temperatures can drop below −20&nbsp;°C with wind chill factors below −30&nbsp;°C. In terms of favorable weather, July through September are the best months to climb. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains west into Spray River, or east to Smuts Creek, both of which empty into Spray Lakes Reservoir.

==Climbing== Mount Smuts is a difficult and exposed scramble on limestone slabs via the south ridge, and very few parties successfully summit each year.<ref name=kane/> Rope is recommended for anything less than ideal conditions.

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Mount Smuts from Tent Ridge.jpg|North aspect viewed from Tent Ridge File:Mount Smuts from Spray Lake.jpg|Mount Smuts seen from Spray Lake File:Mount Smuts and The Fist.jpg|Mount Smuts (left) and The Fist seen from Smith-Dorrien Road </gallery>

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

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * Mount Smuts weather: [https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Smuts/forecasts/2938 Mountain Forecast] * CBC News: [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/catlin-hannah-death-1.4791049 2018 fatality on Mt. Smuts] * CBC News: [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/missing-hiker-found-dead-mount-smuts-1.7293175 2024 fatality on Mt. Smuts]

{{Geographic Location 2 | Center = Mount Smuts | North = Spray Lakes Reservoir | Northeast = Tent Ridge | ENE = Mount Galatea | East = Mount Chester | ESE = Smuts Creek | Southeast = Commonwealth Peak | South = Mount Birdwood | WSW = Spray River | West = Mount Currie | WNW = Mount Byng | Northwest = Mount Shark }} {{Canadian Rockies|state=collapsed}} {{JanSmutsFooter}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smuts}} Category:Two-thousanders of Alberta Category:Spray Mountains Category:Mountains of Banff National Park Category:Jan Smuts