The Three Sisters (Alberta)

Last updated
The Three Sisters
Three Sisters Rockey Mountains Canmore.jpg
Three Sisters above the rooftops of Canmore
Highest point
Elevation 2,936 m (9,633 ft) [1]
Listing Mountains of Alberta
Coordinates 51°01′29″N115°19′50″W / 51.02472°N 115.33056°W / 51.02472; -115.33056 [2]
Geography
Canada Alberta relief location map - transverse mercator proj.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
The Three Sisters
Location in Alberta
The Three Sisters (Alberta)
Interactive map of The Three Sisters
Country Canada
Province Alberta
Parent range South Banff Range, Canadian Rockies
Topo map NTS 82O3 Canmore [2]
Climbing
First ascent 1887 by J.J. McArthur [1]

The Three Sisters are a trio of peaks near Canmore, Alberta, Canada. They are known individually as Big Sister, Middle Sister and Little Sister. [3]

Contents

In the traditional language of the Îyârhe Nakoda (Stoney) the peaks are also referred to as the three sisters. However, the name refers to a story of Ĩ-ktomnĩ, the old man or trickster, who would promise 'three sisters' in marriage whenever he was in trouble. [4]

This trio of peaks has a significant role in the town of Canmore, tourism, and hiking in the area. The Three Sisters may be the most recognized peaks in the Bow River Valley. [5]

History

In 1883, Albert Rogers, a nephew of Major A. B. Rogers, was the first settler to name the mountains when he saw the sides of the peaks covered in snow, resembling three praying nuns: [6] [1]

There had been quite a heavy snowstorm in the night, and when we got up in the morning and looked out of the tent I noticed each of the three peaks had a heavy veil of snow on the north side and I said to the boys, 'Look at the Three Nuns'.

Initially called the Three Nuns, they were later renamed the Three Sisters. This last name first appeared on George Mercer Dawson's 1886 map, which apparently found the name, and was more appropriate in a spirit of Protestantism. [1]


Another story is that the first superintendent of Banff National Park, George Stewart, named it after his three daughters: Frances, Olive, and Grace. [7]

Peaks

PeakmetresfeetCoordinatesFirst Ascent
Big Sister (Faith)2,9369,632 51°00′50″N115°21′00″W / 51.01389°N 115.35000°W / 51.01389; -115.35000 (Big Sister) 1887
Middle Sister (Charity)2,7699,084 51°01′00″N115°20′00″W / 51.01667°N 115.33333°W / 51.01667; -115.33333 (Middle Sister) 1920
Little Sister (Hope)2,6948,840 51°01′30″N115°20′00″W / 51.02500°N 115.33333°W / 51.02500; -115.33333 (Little Sister) 1925

Big Sister is a moderate scramble on southwestern slopes and is very steep while Middle Sister is an easy scramble from Stewart Creek. Little Sister is a more difficult ascent requiring technical climbing skills. The Three Sisters Traverse is an obscure and dangerous climb seldom done. [8] [9]

The Three Sisters after sunrise, reflected in the Bow River Three Sisters from Police Creek.jpg
The Three Sisters after sunrise, reflected in the Bow River

Local wildlife in surrounding area

Being located in the southern Canmore mountain area, there are several wildlife notorious for the area. Wildlife species include but are not limited to grizzly bears, wolverines, lynxes, wolves, cougars, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep. In particular, the grizzly bear, lynx, and wolverine are considered endangered in this region. [10]

Indigenous people in surrounding area

The Three Sisters mountain is located near Canmore, AB. Canmore is located within the region of Treaty 7, which exists in Southern Alberta. Bearspaw First Nation, Chiniki First Nation, Goodstoney First Nation, Tsuut’ina First Nation, and Blackfoot Confederacy exist within Treaty 7. These nations form the Stoney Nakoda. Canmore is also in Region 3, home of the Métis Nation of Alberta. [11]

Nearby mountain ranges and significant locations

Scenic trails

This list contains different trails in Canmore and Banff Provincial Park to view the Three Sisters and other mountains known in Canmore. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banff National Park</span> National park in Alberta, Canada

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, 110–180 kilometres (68–112 mi) west of Calgary, Banff encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi) of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbours to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and Kananaskis Country to the southeast. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, in the Bow River valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kananaskis Country</span> Multiuse area west of Calgary, Canada

Kananaskis Country is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The area is named for the Kananaskis River, which was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a Cree acquaintance. Covering an area of approximately 4,000 km2 (1,500 sq mi), Kananaskis Country was formed by the Alberta Government in 1978 to provide an assortment of land uses and designations. Land uses include resource extraction activities, recreation, power generation, and residential communities. Land designations include public land and protected areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canmore, Alberta</span> Town in Alberta, Canada

Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately 81 kilometres (50 mi) west of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rocky Mountains. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8 to the north and east. With a population of 17,036 in 2023, Canmore is the fifth-largest town in Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anûkathâ Îpa</span> Mountain in Alberta, Canada

Anûkathâ Îpa is an outlier of Mount Charles Stewart in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta. It is one of the most prominent landmarks in the vicinity of Canmore, Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Rundle</span> Mountain in Banff National Park, Canada

Mount Rundle is a mountain in Canada's Banff National Park overlooking the towns of Banff and Canmore, Alberta. The Cree name was Waskahigan Watchi or house mountain. In 1858 John Palliser renamed the mountain after Reverend Robert Rundle, a Methodist invited by the Hudson's Bay Company to do missionary work in western Canada in the 1840s. He introduced syllabics there—a written language developed for the Cree, as part of his missionary work. He only visited the Stoney-Nakoda of the area around what is now called Mount Rundle in 1844 and 1847.

Highway 1 is a major east–west highway in southern Alberta that forms the southern mainline of the Trans-Canada Highway. It runs from the British Columbia border near Lake Louise through Calgary to the Saskatchewan border east of Medicine Hat. It continues as Highway 1 into both provinces. It spans approximately 534 km (332 mi) from Alberta's border with British Columbia in the west to its border with Saskatchewan in the east. Highway 1 is designated as a core route in Canada's National Highway System and is a core part of the developing Alberta Freeway Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Highway 1A</span> Designation for two disconnected sections of provincial highway in Alberta, Canada

Highway 1A is the designation of two alternate routes off the Alberta portion of Trans-Canada Highway 1. However, it is not the only name used for spurs off Highway 1 - Highway 1X is another such designation. Despite these highways being suffixed routes of Highway 1, they are not part of the Trans-Canada Highway network, and are signed with Alberta's provincial primary highway shields instead of the Trans-Canada shields used for Highway 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bow Valley Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in Alberta, Canada

Bow Valley Provincial Park is a provincial park in Alberta, Canada. Established in 1959 in the arch of the Bow River at its confluence with the Kananaskis River, the park is one park of many within the Kananaskis Country park system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Lougheed Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in Alberta, Canada

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is in Kananaskis Country about 90 kilometres (56 mi) west of Calgary, along the Kananaskis Trail in Alberta, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nakoda people</span> First Nations people in Western Canada

The Nakoda are an Indigenous people in Western Canada and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoney 142, 143, 144</span> Indian reserve in Canada

Stoney 142, 143, 144 is an Indian reserve of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, comprising Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley First Nations in Alberta, located between the Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8 and Rocky View County. The largest community of the Nakoda people, it is 56 kilometers west of Calgary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunnel Mountain</span> Mountain in Alberta, Canada

Tunnel Mountain, also known as Sleeping Buffalo, is a mountain located in the Bow River Valley of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada at the junction of the Spray River with the Bow and overlooking the Hot Springs on Sulphur Mountain. The mountain is nearly completely encircled by the town of Banff and the Banff Springs Hotel grounds. For many Indigenous people, the Buffalo is not sleeping anymore since Banff National Park reintroduced wild bison in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Louise (Alberta)</span> Glacial lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Lake Louise is a glacial lake within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Situated 11 km (6.8 mi) east of the border with British Columbia, Lake Louise is located 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the hamlet of Lake Louise and the Trans-Canada Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Lawrence Grassi</span> Mountain in Alberta, Canada

Mount Lawrence Grassi is the tallest peak of the Ehagay Nakoda massif, a multi-peaked mountain located immediately south of the town of Canmore just east of the Spray Lakes road in Alberta's Canadian Rockies. The mountain sports two other subsidiary peaks with commemorative names: Ha Ling Peak on the northwestern end, and Miners Peak located southeast of Ha Ling Peak between Ha Ling Peak and Mount Lawrence Grassi. Another peak on the mountain is named Ship's Prow, which is on the Southeastern end of the mountain. The mountain is separated from Mount Rundle by Whiteman's Gap, and is separated to the South from The Three Sisters by Three Sisters Pass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goat Range (Alberta)</span> Mountain range in Alberta, Canada

The Goat Range is a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies in southwestern Alberta, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banff-Kananaskis</span> Provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada

Banff-Kananaskis is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. It was contested for the first time in the 2019 Alberta election.

Miranda Rosin is a Canadian politician who represented the electoral district of Banff-Kananaskis in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the United Conservative Party from 2019 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ehagay Nakoda</span> Massif in Canadian Rockies

Ehagay Nakoda is a multipeaked massif located immediately south of the town of Canmore just east of the Spray Lakes road in Alberta's Canadian Rockies. The mountain sports two subsidiary peaks with commemorative names, Mount Lawrence Grassi and Ha Ling Peak on the northwestern end. It also sports two other named peaks: Ship's Prow on the southeastern side, and Miners Peak. The mountain is separated from Mount Rundle by Whiteman's Gap, and is separated to the South from The Three Sisters by Three Sisters Pass.

The Rocky Mountain Outlook is a weekly local newspaper based in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. The Rocky Mountain Outlook is delivered across the Bow Valley in Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise, the Municipal District of Bighorn and the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. The paper covers news in and around the Bow Valley region, which spans from Lake Louise in the west to the Stoney Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country in the east. The paper does not charge readers and relies on advertising for income.

Don Getty Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada. It was created on 24 July 2001 and has an area of 62,775 hectares. The park was named for the 11th premier of Alberta, Don Getty. The park was designated as part of the Special Places 2000: Alberta’s Natural Heritage initiative.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Three Sisters". cdnrockiesdatabases.ca. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
  2. 1 2 "The Three Sisters". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  3. Tourism Canmore and Kananaskis. "About Canmore and Kananaskis". Archived from the original on 2012-01-06. Retrieved 2012-01-01.
  4. "Geographic Landmarks | Rocky Mountain Nakoda". Archived from the original on 2012-08-15.
  5. "Three Sisters Mountains". Canmore Kananaskis. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  6. "About Tourism Canmore Kananaskis". Canmore Kananaskis. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  7. "PeakFinder App - The mountains are calling!". PeakFinder. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  8. Will Gadd. "Three Sisters Traverse Notes" . Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  9. "ALL About the Three Sisters Mountains in Canmore, Alberta" . Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  10. "Wildlife Corridors in the Southern Canmore Region". www.stratalink.com. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  11. "National Indigenous Peoples Day". Town of Canmore. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  12. "Three Sisters Viewpoint". Alltrails. Retrieved 2022-11-09.