Houdini Needles

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Houdini Needles

| photo = Houdini Needles.jpg

| photo_caption = South aspect

| elevation_m = 2663

| elevation_ref =Glen W. Boles, William Lowell Putnam, Roger W. Laurilla (2006), "Canadian Mountain Place Names", Rocky Mountain Books, {{ISBN|9781894765794}}, p. 125.

| prominence_m =

| prominence_ref =

| isolation_km =

| isolation_ref =

| range = Adamant Range
Selkirk Mountains

| parent_peak =

| etymology = Houdini

| listing = Mountains of British Columbia

| country = Canada | region_type = Province | region = British Columbia

| district = Kootenay Land District{{cite bcgnis|18448|Houdini Needles|2023-09-05}}

| part_type = Protected area | part =

| map = British Columbia#Canada

| map_caption = Location in British Columbia##Location in Canada

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-zoom = 8

| mapframe-caption = Interactive map of Houdini Needles

| coordinates = {{coord|51|45|22|N|117|50|40|W|type:mountain_region:CA-AB_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_ref ={{cite cgndb|id=JBGUH|name=Houdini Needles|access-date=2023-09-05}}

| topo = NTS {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|82|N|13}}

| rock =

| first_ascent = 1948

| easiest_route =

}}

Houdini Needles is a {{Convert|2663|m|ft|abbr=off|adj=on}} mountain in British Columbia, Canada.

Description

Houdini Needles is part of the Adamant Range which is a subrange of the Selkirk Mountains. It is located {{convert|79|km|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of Golden and {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of Glacier National Park. Houdini Needles is glaciated with the Gothics Glacier to the south of the peaks. Precipitation runoff and glacial meltwater from the mountain drains to Kinbasket Lake via Smith Creek. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 1,560 metres (5,418 ft) above Smith Creek in {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on}}.

History

The mountain's toponym was officially adopted on March 4, 1965, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada. The mountain was named by William Lowell Putnam III who explained "When we first saw them from the Echo Glacier they looked so impressive and impossible that we decided only Houdini could get them...." Putnam, along with Andrew Kauffman, Benjamin Ferris and Henry Pinkham, were the members of the party who made the first ascent of the peaks in 1948.William Lowell Putnam, A Climber's Guide to the Interior Ranges of British Columbia – north, American Alpine Club and the Alpine Club of Canada, 1975, p. 87.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Houdini Needles is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. |name-list-style=amp | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | pages = 1633–1644 | issn = 1027-5606}} Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports the Gothics Glacier on the south side of the peaks.