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James.Stoness
Historic Rogers Pass
Driving Rogers Pass
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James Stoness
Historic Rogers Pass
Original railway pillars
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James Stoness
Historic Rogers Pass
Rogers track
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James Stoness
Historic Rogers Pass
Rogers tunnel
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James.Stoness
Historic Rogers Pass
Train heading for the tunnel
Story & photos by James Stoness
When you drive into British Columbia’s Selkirk Mountain Range it isn’t very long before you realize how massive and beautiful they are. They are also historically important, and can be deadly.
In 1881, the Canadian Pacific Railway hired William Van Horne to build the railway that Sir John A. Macdonald said was required to tie Canada together and keep British Columbia from slipping into the grasp of the country to the south. He did well considering that they completed over 3000 km of the line in less than five years. He pushed hard and while still building out on the prairies told the surveyors to find a pass over the Selkirk Mountains.
He hired a man named Rogers to find the pass that was reputed to exist by earlier searchers. His surveying experience came from flat land surveying on the prairies and he poorly prepared himself to enter the mountains. Barely escaping from starvation, he tried again the next year and in 1882 reached the pass that now bears his name.
But it was not the best choice! The access on either side of the pass is steep, and the valley of the Illecillewaet River to the west, and the Beaver River to the east was narrow with precipitous sides. Those steep slides killed over 200 workers with avalanches and necessitated the building of numerous snow sheds to keep snow off the track.
Van Horne had a dream of creating national parks and guest lodges along the tracks and established Glacier House at Rogers Pass in 1886. Again, not a good choice! It wasn’t long before it became obvious the line could not continue to run trains economically over the steep pass, which also passed through some extreme avalanche fields. So, in 1913 they began to build the eight-kilometre Connaught Tunnel, which eliminated many of the avalanche areas and lowered the elevation of the tracks by 178 metres. Glacier House was isolated. And although they attempted taking passengers from the train by horse up the hill, it proved unpopular and Glacier House was abandoned.
Glacier National Park, Canada’s second oldest park, has outstanding scenery. There are few spaces for large RVs to find camping places and it’s more rustic and more comfortably primitive. There are over 400 glaciers in the park and a favourite hike is on the Great Glacier Trails to see the Illecillewaet Glacier.
In 1962, Prime Minister Diefenbaker stood at Rogers Pass to open the Trans-Canada Highway, returning the transportation of people and goods to the railway’s original location. Now the highway is high in the dangerous avalanche field that the railway tried to escape by making the tunnel. When you are driving you may notice some round concrete pads. These are locations for the big guns that shoot down the snow before an unexpected avalanche crashes down the mountain. The Park’s people have the most sophisticated avalanche control anywhere in North America.
At the Rogers Pass Visitor Centre, you can see an old snow shed, hike some of the trail built on the old railway bed, and also see some of the ruins of the original Glacier House. The Centre is a great place for information on camping, hiking, and the condition of the highway. The theatre has movies on avalanches, and there is a hall with model trains and tunnels. See the Memorial Arch, which commemorates the completing of the TransCanada Highway.
More work began on the railway in 1982. The line was still too steep, and required too many extra helper engines, and the hill was a big bottleneck in Canada’s rail transportation system. The plans would see 34 kilometres of double track, and would see the longest train tunnel in North America built. The Mount Macdonald Tunnel, at 14.6 kilometres long, was constructed under Rogers Pass for westbound trains. Associated with it would be new bridges, and a 1300 metre viaduct that would avoid cutting a route into the steep mountainside. The plan was to fit it into the valley and camouflage it.
With 60 sites, Illecillewaet campground is three kilometres west of Rogers Pass. Loop Brook campground is 2 kilometres farther down the hill with 15 sites. Here you can hike the loops of the original railway route. Stand and listen to the echoes of ghost trains passing over an invisible railway above you.
Mount Sir Donald campground offers 15 primitive campsites, but doesn’t allow campfires. These campsites are all close to several backcountry trails that date back to the original railway line. Walking is easier when hiking on the old rail line, but you can choose some trails that take you steeply upwards, providing breathtaking views of the valley below.
One hundred and twenty kilometres west of Rogers Pass is the site where rail construction from the east met the west. That famous ‘driving of the last spike’ was at Craigellachie.
Glacier National Park and the Rogers Pass area are a pleasant change from the overcrowded parks to the east. Possibly because campgrounds are more primitive, they have a more relaxing atmosphere.
Although the highway is very busy, you will find places to pull off the road to enjoy the scenery. If you stay at one of the campgrounds for a few days, and enjoy some hiking, you will find that the rapid hustle of the highway vanishes while you enjoy the solitude of the mountains.
- Campground Information: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/bc/rogers/visit/camping.aspx
- Glacier National Park Map: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/glacier/visit/visit12.aspx