If you were not on this hike here are a few of the things you have missed - listed in no particular order.

1. A beautiful day hiking up Sanson Peak of Sulphur Mountain:

2. Wally Drew's first co-ordinated trip as a young 80 year old.
3. 2 marmots and 1 sheep:

4. 400 plus tourists on the mountaintop having arrived via the Sulphur Mountain gondola.
5. 24 Japanese tourists all looking uncertain as they grimly held on to their Warner Stable steeds.
6. Wally serenading us at lunch time with a verse from the Ramblers official song.
7. Good exercise and great company.

During our descent our views of Mount Edith brought on a discussion as to the origin of the names of Mount Edith, Mount Louis and Mount Fifi.

Peakfinder.com has the following explanation. Mount Edith, Mount Louis and Mount Fifi were all named on the same day in 1886 when Prime Minister John A. MacDonald and his wife were making a cross country trip on the new CPR. Mr. Louis Stewart, the park superintendent's son, took Lady MacDonald's "attendant" - named Edith Orde - and her dog Fifi hiking to Edith pass. This pass provides views of the 3 peaks and a park surveyor named them after the hikers and the dog.

The object of our hike - Sanson Peak - was named for Norman Sanson, a meteorologist whose duty was to climb up every week or 2 to check the weather observation facility. In 1945 at aged 83 he, along with many other Banff residents, hiked up the peak to observe the solar eclipse. In 1956 a road was constructed up the western slopes of Sulphur Mountain to the summit of Sanson Peak. The National Research Council had chosen this site for a cosmic ray station. It was closed in 1978.

Trip participants: Wally, Dorothy Ann, Mike, Gerry, Petra, Ron, Lazlo, Ghulam and Tony (scribe and photographer))

The boardwalk from Sanson Peak to the gondola terminal, Sulphur Mountain peak in background:

Descending the west side road, view is northwest up the Bow Valley: