| |
ABBOTT RIDGE
Abbott Ridge is located about seven kilometers south
of Rogers Pass, which crosses the Selkirk Range in Glacier National Park.
The trail head, located near the Illecillewaet campground at 1250 meters elevation,
was the site of the former Glacier House hotel. The hotel was built by the Canadian
Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) immediately adjacent to the rail line when the
railway still climbed all the way over the pass, rather than tunneling
under. Several other trails also originate here, all climbing 1000 meters
or more above the trail head. The trail network was put in place by Swiss
guides, hired by the C.P.R. to promote mountaineering in the area. This
region is considered by many to be the birthplace of mountaineering in
North America. We did this hike in August 1999.
|
|
Rogers Pass [239 Kb]
|
The trail starts by climbing through dense forest, reaching Marion Lake
after 2.2 km. From Marion Lake the trail continues to climb, finally
breaking out of the forest and into alpine meadows at Abbott Observatory,
which is used for weather and snow pack monitoring to provide information
for winter avalanche control. From here, the Rogers Pass visitors centre
is plainly visible next to the highway below.
|
|
Mount Sir Donald [136 Kb]
|
Above the Abbott Observatory, the trail continues toward the cliff below
Abbott Ridge, then skirts along the face of the cliff before reaching the
ridge. From here the trail follows the ridge top to a spectacular vantage
point on the meadowed ridge, elevation 2290 meters.
The views are dominated by Mount Sir Donald,
but also include all the high mountains surrounding Rogers Pass. Rogers Peak,
Mount Tupper, and Tupper Glacier can be seen directly above the Rogers Pass
visitors centre. To the south of the highway rises
Avalanche Crest.
|
|
Glacier House foundations [210 Kb]
|
After returning to the valley bottom, we had a closer look at the foundation
remains of the Glacier House hotel. The hotel was built by the C.P.R in
1887 to attract tourists to the area, but became obsolete in 1916 when the
Connaught Tunnel was completed to take train traffic underneath the pass
to avoid the worst of the winter snow and avalanche hazards.
Now isolated, the hotel was finally demolished in 1923.
|
