Discovered on July 24, 1882 by Major Albert Bowman Rogers while working for the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR), Rogers Pass is the pass used not only by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, but the Trans Canada Highway, as well. The Trans Canada Highway was completed through Rogers Pass on July 30, 1962.
The elevation at the summit is 1,330 metres, or 4,360 feet. This is not a particularly high summit but, due to is location and the surrounding geography it receives a tremendous amount of snow each winter, as much as 45.5 feet on nearby Mount Fidelity. As a result avalanches are an ever present and dangerous threat. The most deadly occurred on March 4, 1910, when sixty-two railway workers died when an avalanche buried a crew trying to free a train caught in a previous avalanche. Snowsheds have been built to protect both highway and railway in the most avalanche prone spots. To reduce the grade and to minimize avalanche danger, the railroad has since been rerouted through two tunnels, the Connaught Tunnel, begun on April 2, 1914 and the Mount Macdonald Tunnel, inaugurated on May 4, 1989.
At the summit is the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre, a tourist information centre and museum, not to mention a
National Historic Site. Within one will find knowledgeable and helpful personnel eager to provide any and all information requested on Rogers Pass and Glacier National Park. Rogers Pass lies within Glacier National Park, the second oldest National Park in Canada, after Banff National Park. In the centre are a theatre and a museum containing exhibits about the discovery of Rogers Pass and the completion of the railway, natural history displays, railway model trains and railway tunnels and a large relief map of the pass showing the original railway route and the present route.
When the centre was renovated in 2011 the seemingly omnipresent Nelson Daily ran an article on the centre, pointing out its tourism value and a little of the story of Glacier National Park. Excerpts from the article can be read below.
Renovations help Rogers Pass Discovery Centre in Glacier National Park
by Contributor on 14 Sep 2011
Following extensive renovations, which were funded in part by Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre was ready to welcome visitors Monday.
The opening also honoured the 50-year partnership between Parks Canada and the Canadian Forces for avalanche control along the Trans-Canada Highway in Glacier National Park.
Rogers Pass Discovery Centre connects people with the natural wonders and rich cultural history of the park through interactive exhibits, films and storytelling. Renovations to the Discovery Centre include important structural repairs as well as innovative new exhibits.
As part of today’s opening, the Canadian Forces presented Parks Canada with three decommissioned howitzers for display in Glacier National Park in recognition of the 50th anniversary of collaboration in operating the world’s largest mobile avalanche control program.
"Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors to British Columbia’s mountain national parks and millions of through-traffic vehicles are able to travel the Trans-Canada Highway safely thanks to the collaborative efforts of our Government," said David Wilks, member of Parliament for Kootenay-Columbia.
"For 50 years, we have kept Canadians safe at home during the winter months by triggering controlled avalanches before they became a threat to the highway and motorists."
This year Parks Canada celebrates its 100th anniversary as the first formal national park service organization in the world.
Parks Canada is a world leader in managing protected areas and works to ensure that Canada’s treasured natural and historic heritage places are presented and protected for all Canadians to discover and experience now and for years to come.
From the Nelson Daily