History: The mountain was unknown until first sighted by Don and Phyllis Munday while on a climbing trip on Vancouver Island in the early 1930's. For the next decade they mounted several expeditions to the area of the mountain, approaching from the head of Knight Inlet via the Franklin Glacier.
Between 1926 and 1934, they led several expeditions to the mountain. They successfully reached its lower northwest summit in 1928, but decided that the main summit was too risky. In 1948, Don Munday published the book The Unknown Mountain, documenting the couple's Mount Waddington challenges and adventures.
Ascents:
The first ascent was in 1936 by Fritz Weissner and Bill House; in 1942 by the Beckey brothers Fred and Helmy; and in 1950 by (a) Cook, DeSaussure, Long and Huston, and (b) Steck and Bettler. All these were Americans. The first Canadian team was Aldolf Bitterlich (Alberni), Ulf Bitterlich, Arno Meier (Campbell River), John Owen (Vancouver), and Christian Schiel. First Canadian Ascent.
Name Notes:
The mountain was originally referred to by the Mundays as 'Mystery Mountain' but that name was not adopted by the Geographic Board of Canada. It was eventually named 'Mount Waddington' by the Geographic Board of Canada after Alfred Waddington. Alfred Waddington promoted the dream of a transcontinental railway from 1858 to 1872, via the Homathko river and Bute Inlet.
