Fossil Mountain

Fossil Mountain, a peak in Banff National Park, Alberta, south of Skoki Mountain, was named in 1906 by M.P. Bridgland for the many fossils on its slopes. Its open scree route from Deception Pass makes it relatively accessible for scrambling and has also attracted winter ski ascents. That accessibility has been linked to tragedy: on April 7, 1933, Raymond Paley was killed in a slab avalanche after skiing nearly to the summit, in the first known skiing fatality in the Canadian Rockies. Another avalanche in February 1988 killed cousins Dan and Wayne Hugo. The mountain is remembered for both its fossils and the dangers of ski travel in the Rockies.

Alberta · Canada