Ha Ling Peak
Encyclopedia
Ha Ling Peak is a peak at the northwestern end of Mount Lawrence Grassi
— a mountain located immediately south of the town of Canmore
just east of the Spray Lakes road in Alberta
's Canadian Rockies
. It was previously named Chinaman's Peak but the name was changed to be less offensive.
cook for the Canadian Pacific Railway
(some say the Okaloosa Hotel in Canmore) was bet 50 dollars that he could not climb the peak and plant a flag on the summit in less than 10 hours. According to the Medicine Hat News of October 24, 1896, he started the ascent at 7:00 am the previous Saturday morning and was back in time for lunch. As nobody believed his story, he led a party of doubters to the summit where he planted a much larger flag beside the original, this one visible to the naked eye from Canmore. The townsfolk referred to the mountain as Chinaman's Peak in his honour.
The name Chinaman's Peak did not become official until 1980. Later, in 1997 it was renamed Ha Ling Peak as the term Chinaman was viewed as derogatory.
route up Canmore Couloir, located between Mount Lawrence Grassi and Miner's Col.
Mount Lawrence Grassi
Mount Lawrence Grassi is a 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 subsidiary peaks: Ha Ling Peak on the northwestern end and the Ship's Prow on the southeastern side...
— a mountain located immediately south of the town of Canmore
Canmore, Alberta
Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of the City of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rockies. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of...
just east of the Spray Lakes road in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
's Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
. It was previously named Chinaman's Peak but the name was changed to be less offensive.
Origin of the name
The name of the mountain has been subject to much controversy. Originally, the mountain was referred to locally as The Beehive. In 1896 Ha Ling, a ChineseHan Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
cook for the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(some say the Okaloosa Hotel in Canmore) was bet 50 dollars that he could not climb the peak and plant a flag on the summit in less than 10 hours. According to the Medicine Hat News of October 24, 1896, he started the ascent at 7:00 am the previous Saturday morning and was back in time for lunch. As nobody believed his story, he led a party of doubters to the summit where he planted a much larger flag beside the original, this one visible to the naked eye from Canmore. The townsfolk referred to the mountain as Chinaman's Peak in his honour.
The name Chinaman's Peak did not become official until 1980. Later, in 1997 it was renamed Ha Ling Peak as the term Chinaman was viewed as derogatory.
Climbing
There is a hiking route up the south side. On the north side there are several technical climbing routes up the face and a difficult scramblingScrambling
Scrambling is a method of ascending rocky faces and ridges. It is an ambiguous term that lies somewhere between hillwalking and rock climbing. It is often distinguished from hillwalking by defining a scramble as a route where hands must be used in the ascent...
route up Canmore Couloir, located between Mount Lawrence Grassi and Miner's Col.