[8] It is situated on the west side of the Rocky Mountain Trench and east of The Bugaboos.

Mount Ethelbert is the highest point of the Septet Range which is a subset of the Purcell Mountains.

Mount Ethelbert is notable for its steep rise above local terrain as topographic relief is significant with the summit rising over 1,400 meters (4,593 ft) above the Templeton River valley in 2 km (1.2 mi) and over 1,450 meters (4,757 ft) above Climax Lake in the Dunbar valley in 2 km (1.2 mi).

[4] The first ascent of the summit was made in 1915 by Dr. and Mrs. Winthrop Stone, Mr. and Mrs. Albert H. MacCarthy, Herbert Otto Frind, with guide Conrad Kain.

[10][11] Margaret Stone was given the honor of being the first of the group to summit since she was the only member of the party without a prior first ascent to their credit.