Mt. Assiniboine was named by George Dawson in 1885. When Dawson saw Mt. Assiniboine from Copper Mountain, he saw a plume of clouds trailing away from the top. This reminded him of the plumes of smoke eminating from the teepees of Assiniboine Indians. Mt. Assiniboine was first climbed in 1901 by James Outram, Christian Bohren and Christian Hasler. In 1925, Lawrence Grassie became the first person to make a solo ascent. On August 27, 2001, Bohren's grand-daughter Lonnie along with three others made a successful ascent, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first ascent.
Mt. Assiniboine is enclosed within Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. The park does not have any roads and thus can only be reached by a six hour hike (27km), three hour bike ride or helicopter. The usual approach is via Bryant Creek. From Canmore, Alberta follow the Smith-Dorien road to the Mt. Shark parking lot. The trail is well signed. A helipad is also here.
There are no scrambling routes up Mt. Assiniboine. The easiest mountaineering routes are the North Ridge and North Face at YDS 5.5 which are reached from the Hind Hut.