By Andrew Whittick
We modern humans may have a world of
information and virtual thrills available to us at a
click of a button, but we still like to get up to a
high vantage point, drink in the clean mountain air
with the wind in our faces, and get our bearings on
the world around us. Things really haven't
changed that much from 100 years ago when Banff
meteorologist, Norman Sanson was busy hiking up
the 6 km trail on Sulphur Mountain every 10 days
or so to collect weather data from his observatory
at the summit. What's remarkable is that between
1902 and his retirement in 1931, he made the trek
1,000 times! Sanson was a member of the Alpine
Club of Canada, formed in 1906, and the first
president of the Skyline Hikers of the Canadian
Rockies in 1933. Even after retirement, he liked to
hike up to his favorite vantage point on Sulphur
Mountain, and in 1945, at the age of 83, he was
there to observe a solar eclipse.
In 1959, a gondola was built, and since then, most
visitors are whisked to the summit so that they,
too, can get a 360-degree view of a large portion of
Banff National Park. However, many hardy souls
still choose to follow Sanson's footsteps and
continue to hike his trail to the summit. His stone
weather observatory still stands, and is accessible
by Parks Canada's 1 km interpretive boardwalk
that snakes along the mountain's crest, linking the
observatory to the Banff Gondola Upper
Terminal.
At the top of Sulphur Mountain, Sanson used a compass to get his bearings and to fix his position relative to known locations. Modern-day explorers now find their way to the rooftop of the Banff Gondola Upper Terminal, where they step into a giant compass. |
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The entire circular view deck is divided into the points of a compass, with plaques indicating direction and distances to over 40 major cities around the world. Visitors from Bern, Switzerland; Shanghai, China; Pretoria, South Africa and beyond are able to directly face, call out, and wave to friends and family at home, thousands of kilometers away!
Interpretive panels on the inside wall of the giant compass orient the visitor to the special significance of this area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Canada's extensive National Parks system.
Some visitors are fond of saying, "The mountains are beautiful, but they block the view!", and many lose their sense of direction amongst the jumble of rocky peaks. From Norman Sanson's viewpoint, the panoramic view is laid out below the visitor, and the rooftop compass quickly orients visitors to their position--at the top of the world! |
