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Cirque of the Unclimbables

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Mountainous area in Northwest Territories, Canada
Cirque of the Unclimbables
Map showing the location of Cirque of the UnclimbablesMap showing the location of Cirque of the UnclimbablesLocation of Cirque of the Unclimbables in CanadaShow map of CanadaMap showing the location of Cirque of the UnclimbablesMap showing the location of Cirque of the UnclimbablesCirque of the Unclimbables (Northwest Territories)Show map of Northwest Territories
LocationInside the Nahanni National Park Reserve, Northwest Territories, Canada
Nearest cityFort Simpson
Fort Liard
Nahanni Butte
Coordinates62°06′06″N 127°40′15″W / 62.10167°N 127.67083°W / 62.10167; -127.67083
DesignationMountain
The Cirque of the Unclimbables walls in 1977.
The Cirque of the Unclimbables walls in 1977.

Cirque of the Unclimbables, located inside the Nahanni National Park Reserve, in the Northwest Territories, Canada, approximately 500 km (311 mi) west of Yellowknife, is a cluster of peaks and walls in the Mackenzie Mountains Natural Region.

Description

According to the tourism promotion authority of the government of Northwest Territories:

A challenge for world class mountaineers, the Cirque is located in the Ragged Range, near Glacier Lake. The Cirque's most famous peak – a must for every serious climber - is the Lotus Flower Tower, featured in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. The Vampire Spires are granite towers some 40 km away that challenge even the Cirque. True to their name, these ragged peaks were shaped by the last ice age, and are some of the highest in the Northwest Territories. Remote and towering cliffs and icefields challenge hikers and climbers. This is the summer range of woodland caribou, mountain goats, Dall's sheep and bears.

— Northwest Territories Tourism,

History

In 1955, the mountaineer Arnold Wexler came across this series of remote cliffs in the Logan Mountains, now part of Nahanni National Park Reserve. Frustrated by their sheer granite walls, he named the jagged monsters the Cirque of the Unclimbables.

Access

Access to the Cirque and the Ragged Range is by charter aircraft.

Lotus Flower Tower and other climbs

The Cirque's most famous peak is the Lotus Flower Tower featured in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. The most notable view of the Cirque is visible from its 610 m (2,000 ft) southeast buttress. Other climbs include Mount Proboscis, Club International, and Middle Huey Spire.

See also

References

  1. "Index - Nahanni National Park Reserve". 28 March 2017.
  2. Northwest Territories Tourism
  3. Photo of Lotus Flower Tower by Terry Parker, Northwest Territories Tourism

External links

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