A massif in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, known for its multi-pinnacled, gothic-cathedral silhouette. Cathedral Mountain (3,189 m) stands about 6 km northwest of Lake O’Hara, directly across from Mount Stephen along the Kicking Horse Pass corridor. Visible from the Trans-Canada Highway.

Cathedral Crags. The striking reddish-cliff pinnacles (3,082 m) visible from the Spiral Tunnels viewpoint; often mistaken for the summit; are a separate sub-peak on the massif.

Railway connection. Cathedral Mountain formed one side of the “Big Hill,” the steepest and most dangerous stretch of CPR track in North America. The Upper Spiral Tunnel (~992 m) was blasted into its base in 1909 to reduce the grade from 4.5% to 2.2%.

Teacup Lake. A small glacial lake on the west face, famous for jökulhlaups (glacial outburst floods). Water is often pumped from the lake to protect the CPR tracks below from sudden overflows.

First ascent. James Outram with guides Joseph Bossoney and Christian Klucker, 1901. The mountain’s dramatic form inspired Group of Seven painters Arthur Lismer and J.E.H. MacDonald in the late 1920s.