Thank you to Larry Halvorson for submitting this story.
Nigel Peak – re-naming.
July 27th, 2025
Jasper Local. A rare ascent of a local peak, a climber campaigning to honour his family, and an uncovered register of heralded names in Jasper National Park’s alpinist community. The ingredients of a mountain tale, if there ever were any. For the past two summers, 31-year-old Andrew Everett has hung his helmet near the toe of the Athabasca Glacier. During the day, he drives ice explorers for Pursuit. Most nights, from the window in his staff dorm, he has eyed, with a climber’s curiosity, the pointed spire next to prominent Nigel Peak. 
Here is the link to the full story by Bob Covey.
https://www.jasperlocal.com/2025/07/27/mountaineer-proposes-new-moniker-for-prominent-peak/
July 28th, 2025 Rocky Mountain Outlook article by Leah Pelletier
The above article by Leah Pelletier, Journalist for Rocky Mountain Outlook generated a conversation between Hans Fuhrer and Leah with some interesting comments about Nigel Peak N2.
August 2nd, 2025, from Hans to Leah
Hi Leah,
Thank you for publishing this interesting story about the recent ascent of Nigel Peak N2 in the Rocky Mountain Outlook. For your interest, I’d like to add some background information as my wife Lilo and I were stationed at the Columbia Icefield Information Center for Parks Canada in the summer months from 1964 to 1974. My wife ran the information bureau and I looked after the mandatory mountain climbing and hiking registration and any public safety incidents, whether in the mountains or on the highway. Nigel main peak was a frequent and very scenic climb via Wilcox Pass and Nigel Lake. Nigel N2 was not in demand at that time but as published in the Putnam Climber’s Guide to the Rocky Mountains (North) it was already climbed in 1938 by a party of six (photo of page attached).
On June 30, 1966 I decided to climb it via the south ridge from the Banff Jasper Park boundary. I dug through my personal mountaineering journal and found my two-page hand-written entry of this particular climb. I was accompanied by Ted van Dike, a theological student, who worked with us at the Icefields Centre. It was a long scramble up to a point just below the summit blocked by a short steep face with little protection and required roping up for the final climb. Ted required some coaxing as it was his first time on a rope. At the summit we found a cairn with a rusty tin can, containing a written note by the first ascentionists in 1938. We added our own note and placed it in the cairn, but have no idea what happened to the original note (no further details in my journal whether I placed both notes back in the tin can or whether I brought along the glass jar).
For the descent I hammered in a piton to rappel off. The shale rocks over the edge were really sharp and I was careful to lay the rope over them. I lowered Ted first and came down second. Upon pulling the rope it somehow got stuck and after several tugs and pulls it came down in two parts, presumably cut by the sharp rocks at the edge. It is interesting to note that I used part of the same rope earlier this week to tie up the tomato plants in our garden in Edgewater, before I even knew about your article.
On July 7, 1966 I climbed the peak again with my wife Lilo. As I can see from the photo in your article, a few more climbs have taken place since then!
As far as it goes to rename this peak, personally I would recommend to name it Boundary or Division Peak as it divides Banff and Jasper national park and sits straight above Sunwapta Pass on the Banff Jasper Highway.
In closing I wish to congratulate the young climbers on their ascent. Feel free to forward my email to them as I couldn’t find their contact info.
Best wishes,
Hans
August 7th, 2025
To Andrew Everett from Leah
Hi Andy,
I hope you’re well! I just wanted to pass on this email I received from Hans Fuhrer. Interesting to hear about the story behind that rusted piton!
Best,
Leah Pelletier
Journalist
Rocky Mountain Outlook
From Andrew Everett To Leah and Hans.
Hi Leah and Hans!
Firstly, Leah thank you so much for forwarding this on to me and Hans, thank you so much for your email it’s amazing to hear your story!
There are now around 250 of us working and living at the icefields and we all stare at it every day so it’s a really important mountain for us here. I even found out yesterday that one of the returning drivers has it tattooed on her arm!
It’s great to hear about your adventure Hans and thanks so much for sharing it with me, I really loved reading it. I had a similar experience with the sharp rock (my friends rope looked brand new until after that short but sharp climb!). Nice to hear your rope is still getting some use too even if it’s for a different purpose. Very lucky it came down in two parts once you were on the ground too given the drop off on either side.
I found two pitons at the top, one older and more rusted (potentially yours?) and another more modern. I backed up my anchor off the more modern one assuming it to be better but as I was lowering off it came out and I took a bit of a whipper (luckily my anchor backed it up) but I ended up leaving the piton that came out on the summit cairn, the rusted one is still looking solid and in place!
I’ve also had a few messages back and forth with Peter Amann who climbed it about 20 years after you did and he mentioned he found the original note from the 1930’s to be deteriorated and that he took it away for safe keeping but it’s sadly not lasted.
An online newspaper in Jasper also published the story (Jasper Local) which Peter has replied to on Facebook and I’ve posted screenshots of the conversation below.
He even managed to remember some of the words on the original note and said how the original climbers named it Tenacity Peak.
I’ll be submitting my application shortly to name the mountain and will put forward my suggestion and, now that I’m aware of it, make note of the name Tenacity Peak and let the powers at be decide. Boundary or Division Peak I thought may be a little confusing as there is already Boundary Peak on the other side of the Parkway which is named for the same reason which could make things confusing. I hear the naming process can take 2 years in a national park but I love the mountain (even more now after hearing your story and that of Peter Amann who have climbed it before) and hope that it gets a name, I feel it definitely deserves one! Also feel free to drop me a message if you are coming by this way of love to meet up of you have the time!
All the best,
Andy
Mountaineer proposes new moniker for prominent peak – News
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