Scottish Geographical Magazine

ISSN: 0036-9225 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsgj19

Exploration in the Rocky Mountains north of the Yellowhead Pass

Professor J. Norman Collie

To cite this article: Professor J. Norman Collie (1913) Exploration in the Rocky Mountains north of the Yellowhead Pass, Scottish Geographical Magazine, 29:7, 350-353, DOI: 10.1080/14702541308541536

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14702541308541536

Published online: 30 Jan 2008.

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Download by: [University of Cambridge] Date: 16 June 2016, At: 21:36 350 SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICALMAGAZINE.

very friendly, inviting me in to meals, and taking great interest in my property. An ejector gun was a source of considerable amusement to, them, for I often pretended that by whistling I could make the cartridge hop out on to my lap at will--a droll performance that elicited roars of mirth. On two subsequent occasions I met bodies of tribesmen on the march northwards--fierce-featured men, armed with d~h and crossbow ; bat I was never molested, and we reached the summit of the Salween- Shweli divide without incident; that night we saw the sun set in a blaze of glory over the golden land of Burma. Yeng-yueh.--Three days later we were back on the small T'eng-yueh plain, the first piece of flat ground I had seen for six months, only to find that the country was seething, there had been heavy fighting on the main road, and my caravan had not arrived. However, the consul did everything that was possible, and five days later we received news from the revolutionist leader at Tall saying that my caravan was safe and on its way ; it arrived shortly after Christmas, and we at once set out for Burma, getting back to Bhamo just after the New Year.

EXPLORATION IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS NORTH OF THE YELLOWHEAD PASS. 1

By Professor J. NORMAN COLLIE.

UP to only a very few years ago little was known about the country that lies along the watershed of the Rocky Mountains in Canada. The first man to cross the continent in what is now Canada was Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1793. After that date and up to 1857 the only people who visited that "Great Lone Land" were the hunters and trappers~ employed by the Hudson Bay or the North West Companies. In 1857 an expedition was seat by the British Government under Captain Palliser to explore the southern portion of the Canadian Rockies and t(~ report if it was possible for a road to be made over the mountains so as

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 21:36 16 June 2016 to connect Eastern with Western Canada. The report was unfavourable. In 1871 a survey was started for a trans-eontinental railway, and in 1886 the Canadian Pacific Railway was opened. This rendered it possible for peol~le to get to the Rockies without difficulty, but still, even ten years later, large portions of the mountainous country, quite near to where the railway passes over the divide at the Kicking Horse Pass, were unknown and unexplored. During the summers of 1897, 1898, 1900, and 1902 the author explored the country for about one hundred and twenty miles north of the Kicking Horse Pass, discovered many peaks, passes, and glaciers, the most important being a large central snow-field that was the source

1 _in Address delivered before the Society in Edinburgh on February 20~ 3913. EXPLORATION IN ROCKY N[OUIqTAINS NORTIt OF YELLOWHEAD PASS. 351

of the three largest rivers in Western Canada. It was named the Columbia ice-field ~ from it flowed the Columbia, the Saskatchewan, and the Athabasea rivers, that drain respectively into the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Arctic oceans. A map was made of the country thus explored. But there still remained much more country further north about which practically nothing was known. Dr. Dawson, the late head of the Canadian Survey, wrote only twenty years ago, "In Canada there are 3,4:70,000 square miles, of which 95~,000 square miles (exclusive of the inhospitable Arctic portions) is for all practicable purposes entirely unknown." It was in 1910 that the first section of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was opened almost up to the foothills of the Rockies on the east. This made it possible to reach the Rockies at a point about one hundred miles to the north of the ground explored during 1S97-1902, and by following • the Athabasea River reach the ¥ellowhead Pass. This pass leads over the main range from the valley of the Athabasea to that of the Fraser River in British Columbia. It was in 1910 that the author with Mr. A. L. Mumm made use of the railway ; the railhead was then at Wolf Creek. From there to the Yellowhead Pass was roughly one hundred and fifty miles. With the party came five men together with about twenty horses, the latter carrying all the provisions and tents of the party. We started on July 17, and on the 27th we crossed the Athabasca~ reaching the Yellowhead Pass on the 29th. After crossing the pass we descended about fifteen miles, then struck north up the Moose River~ crossed another pass, arriving under Mount Robson on August 9. Mount Robson is the highest measured mountain in the Canadian Rockies (13,700 ft.), and has been known ever since the Yellowhead Pass was first used by white men, for it can be seen from the trail leading down from the Pass to T~te Jaune Cache. It was not till 1907 that it was first visited by Dr. Coleman of Toronto. It has once been climbed--Messrs. Kinney and Phillips reaching the top in 1909. We intended to remain under Mount Robson for some time, and, if the weather were favourable, climb it. But after waiting eleven days the weather, which had been bad most of the time, became worse, and

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 21:36 16 June 2016 our whole camp, after a snow-storm lasting two days and two nights~ was buried in snow. This finally prevented us even attempting the high peak, but we ascended several smaller mountains. One on the north-west of our camp gave us a good view to the north~ into an absolutely unknown and unexplored country. We also went to the head of the great glacier on the east of Mount Robson, but the snow was so deep that we were unable to climb any peak. As the weather had become too bad for the ascents of high mountains, we determined to work north down the valley of a river, the Smoky, so as to get~ if possible, into the country we had seen from the peak we climbed on the north-west of our camp near Mount Robson. The weather~ however, continued wretched. We discovered a new pass over the divide well below tree limit at about six thousand one hundred feet. An old 352 SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE.

Indian trail crosses this pass, but it had not been used for years. To the north of the pass was a fine snow peak and glacier, and one of our men named it Mount Bess. It was now time for us to return to eivilisation. We had heard from some Indians on the Athabasea that a pass existed somewhere leading from the Smoky River to the Stoney River, and the latter flows ultimately into the Athabasea below Jasper House. Obviously, if we could find this pass, it would be a comparatively short route out of the mountains. But, again, if we went wrong and by mistake crossed a pass to the Sulphur River, it would take us a hundred miles away to the north to the Smoky River again, and it would be two months before we got back to civilisa- tion instead of two weeks. Fortunately, as it eventually turned out, we found the right pass, but for a week we were uncertain whether we were on the Smoky or the SuIphur River. The following year the same party started back for the Smoky River, our newly discovered trail of the year before being a short cut into the unknown country north of Mount Robson. This time, as I was collecting material for a map, it was necessary to Veeasionally climb some mountain sufficiently high to enable me to find out where we were with regard to Mount Robson and the high peaks we had seen to the north of Mount Robson. The first peak climbed was one on the east side of the pass that led from the Stoney River to the Smoky River. From it we had a magnificent view in all directions, in- cluding Mount Bess, and to the north of Mount Bess, where a splendid group of snow mountains could be seen. This peak we named Hoodoo Peak, after a bulldog that insisted on climbing the peak with his master, who was one of the men who came with us. On our way from the pass down to the Smoky River we passed a fine lake. Having reached the Smoky River we crossed it and struck up a valley that came down from the west, for from the top of Mount Hoodoo we had seen a fine snow mountain that lay at the head of this side valley. At the head of this valley we camped near the foot of a splendid glacier, and underneath several fine snow peaks. This glacier is probably the biggest and certainly the finest I have seen in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacier that comes from

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 21:36 16 June 2016 Mount Columbia to the headwaters of the Bush Valley must be of great size, but I have never seen it at close quarters. The glacier under Mount Robson is not so large, nor does it possess ice scenery to compare with this new glacier. Later we found that it had its source in a large snow-field, and is about two miles wide at the point it issues from the snow-field. It then drops a thousand feet in a magnificent cascade of ice pinnacles. Then there is a nearly flat stretch of a mile and then a second drop occurs. It then narrows and finally ends with a third drop to the floor of the valley. We explored during the next few days the country round the bottom of the glacier. Finally we started for an exploration of the upper part of the glacier and with the intention of climbing a snow peak towards the west. The chief difficulty lay in surmounting the great EXPLORATION IN ROCKY MOUNTAINS NORT]I OF YELLOW]lEAD PASS. 353;

upper ice fall. It was impossible to cut a way up it, our only chance~ lay in climbing up the corner of the ice-fall where it abutted on to the rock precipice on the north side of the glacier. The route was not free from danger, as it was overhung by ice walls that occasionally sent down avalanches. In the early morning we were able to pass this spot safely, and after climbing up some steep snow slopes arrived on the edge of the great snow-field. It stretched for miles to the north- west, and about four miles away to the west at the other side lay the peak we wished to climb. Fortunately it was very easy walking over the n~v~, and, soon reaching a col on the south side of the peak, we were able to ascend an easy ridge to the top of the peak, 11,300 ft. From the summit we had a fine view. South-east of us was the highest peak of the group, probably 11,500 ft. high, to the south was Mount Bess, the same height as the peak we were on, and further away we could see Mount Robson and his attendant satellites. To the west lay an unknown land, and our peak fell away steeply for thou- sands of feet down to a beautiful valley that ran parallel with the main range to the north. Far away to the south-west and beyond the Fraser River we could see the unknown Cariboo Mountains. It is curious that no one has ever mentioned these excessively fine peaks. They are probably bigger and finer than the Selkirk Mountains, although they do not stretch over so much ground. Two peaks we could see were especially fine, one a snow peak and the other sharper and with more rock on it. Now, however, that the trans-continental railway, the Grand Trunk Pacific, is going down the Fraser Valley, we shall probably hear a good deal more of this unknown mountain land. We next attempted to force our way further north along the valley of the Smoky l~iver that runs parallel with the main range. The burnt timber and difficulty of getting our pack horses through soon made us turn back ~ and as we had some few days left we determined to visit the country round Mount Bess and if possible climb that mountain. This we were fortunately able to do as the weather was favourable. We ascended from the south side, and found the last two thousand feet very steep, partly ice and partly snow. The top is dome-shaped, and again we had a magnificent view from the summit.

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 21:36 16 June 2016 We then made an excursion over to @he west side of Mount Bess into British Columbia and were able to see the main range from the western side. And then, as our time was up, we had to turn our backs on this happy hunting-ground and hurry hot foot on the homeward trail. We should soon have to change the camp life for that of the hotel, and our small world was to be ended for the time being. But if one has once wandered in such a land one is always hearing the call to come back again ; the sombre forests, the rushing rivers, the beautiful quiet lakes, and the snow-white mountains, they all call and call again, and the memories of one's old friends on the trail and the free life rise up, and back one has to go to those valleys amongst the mountains and wander once more.