Kicking Horse Pass

Kicking Horse Pass (el. 1627 m, 5339 ft) is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta/British Columbia border, and lying within Yoho and Banff national parks. Divide Creek forks onto both sides of the Continental Divide.

Kicking Horse Pass
1887 painting
Elevation1,627 m (5,338 ft)
Traversed byTrans-Canada Highway; Canadian Pacific Railway
LocationBanff National Park, Alberta / Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada
RangeCanadian Rockies
Coordinates51°27′09″N 116°17′09″W[1]
Official nameKicking Horse Pass National Historic Site of Canada
Designated1971
Kicking Horse Pass in British Columbia

Explorers

The pass was first explored by Europeans in 1858 by the Palliser Expedition led by Captain John Palliser. It and the adjacent Kicking Horse River were named after James Hector, a naturalist, geologist, and surgeon, a member of the expedition who was kicked by his horse while exploring the region.[2][3]: 136 

Railway

A National Historic Site of Canada, the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was constructed between Lake Louise, Alberta and Field, British Columbia using this route in 1884, in preference to the original survey through the more northerly Yellowhead Pass.[4]

The original section of the CPR between the summit of the pass near Wapta Lake and Field was known as "The Big Hill". With a ruling gradient of 4.5% (1 in 23), it was the steepest stretch of main-line railroad in North America.[5]

Owing to frequent accidents and expensive helper engines associated with railroading in the pass, the CPR built the two Spiral Tunnels that opened in 1909, replacing the direct route. Although they add several kilometres, they reduce the ruling grade to a more manageable 2.2% (1 in 46). Accidents still occur, including a major derailment in 2019 that killed three CPR employees.[6]

Road

The pack train trail over the pass, established at the time of the railway, gradually became a wagon road.[7] In 1928, the Golden–Lake Louise highway, which essentially followed the CPR route, was completed.[8]

This section of the Trans-Canada Highway, built in 1962, follows a more northerly placement along the eastern approach. It reaches its highest point at Kicking Horse Pass at an elevation of 1,643 metres (5,390 ft).[9]

The Golden Triangle cycling route includes the pass.[10]

Television

Dave Broadfoot played The Honourable Member for Kicking Horse Pass in the CBC Television satirical series Royal Canadian Air Farce and in his personal standup routines.

Images
  • Looking easterly at Kicking Horse Pass from the Trans Canadian Highway
  • Panorama of the tunnels from the west, 1908 The Big Hill on the Canadian Pacific Railway

See also

References
  1. "Kicking Horse Pass". BC Geographical Names.
  2. Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, Canadian Geographic, Jan/Feb 2008, p. 24
  3. Akrigg, G.P.V.; Akrigg, Helen B. (1986), British Columbia Place Names (3rd, 1997 ed.), Vancouver: UBC Press, ISBN 0-7748-0636-2
  4. Kicking Horse Pass. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  5. Parkin, Tom W. (1989). "British Columbia Historical News: Twisted Track, North America's Spiral Railroad". www.library.ubc.ca. 22 (3): 17 (15).
  6. News, CBC (6 February 2019). "Fatal train derailment: A closer look at what happened that tragic day". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  7. Harris, R.C. (1993). "British Columbia Historical News: Early Travelling in the Columbia–Kootenay Valley". www.library.ubc.ca. 26 (4): 10 (8).
  8. Harvey, R.G. (2006). Carving the Western Path. www.books.google.ca. p. 172. ISBN 9781894974172.
  9. B.C. Trans-Canada Highway
  10. "Bicycling the Golden Triangle". Canada Trails. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
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