Mt. Assiniboine, at 3,618 m (11,870 ft), is the highest mountain in the southern Canadian Rockies, its peak rising about 1525 m (5,000 ft) above Lake Magog. The mountain’s distinctive pyramidal shape resembles the Matterhorn in Switzerland.
It’s not easy to get to Mt. Assiniboine. There’s no roads anywhere nearby so you have one of three choices: 1) On foot — (20 mi, 30 km one way), generally done as a backpacking trip. 2) Cross-country ski there in the winter (same 20 mile distance). 3) Take a helicopter ride in (expensive, but fast and very scenic).
About 20 years ago I visited Mt. Assiniboine as part of a Rocky Mountain backpacking trip. We spent 3 nights (two days) camped beside Lake Magog. It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever camped. It was fun to watch the changing clouds and light on the peak, and to hear the glacier calve off pieces of ice which rumbled down the hill and splashed into the lake.
Interspersed in this post are some of the changing views of the mountain taken on that distant adventure.
