At least six people died hiking or scrambling in Alberta’s Kananaskis Country and Banff National Park this summer, but the public has learned little about these accidents that could help others avoid the same fate.

The victims include a 47-year-old woman who died after falling on Mount Bryant in June, a 65-year-old man on Mount Temple in July, a woman in her 20s near Marvel Peak, also in July, a woman on Mount Yamnuska in mid-August, a woman on Tent Ridge in late August and, most recently, a 33-year-old man near Devil's Thumb and the Big Beehive close to Lake Louise.

(There was also a seventh death: a man attempting to ascend the relatively remote Recondite Peak, a more ambitious undertaking that goes beyond the typical level of hiking and scrambling that most people do and, depending on your definition, may be considered light climbing or mountaineering.) 

Beyond the general vicinities, little information has been released publicly about exactly where or how these accidents occurred.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the Rockies, in both winter and summer, and I feel for the families of those who died. I know people who suffered severe injuries or lost their lives in the mountains, and I’m well aware of how quickly a wonderful day can turn into a nightmare.

I also covered many mountain fatalities during my time as a journalist and have seen how little information is typically made public in the summer. We rarely learn exactly where an........

© National Observer