Kicking Horse Pass (el. ) is a high

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...

across the Continental Divide of the Americas of the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

on the

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

–

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

border, and lying within Yoho and Banff national parks. Divide Creek forks onto both sides of the Continental Divide.

Explorers

First Nations had known and used the pass, but it 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 (Hector's Branch Expeditions, 3 August 1858 – 26 May 1859), was kicked by his horse while attempting rescue of another horse that had gone into the river. From Hector's summary, which appears on pages 105–106 of Palliser's diary,

Railway

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

, the main line of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

(CPR) was constructed between

Lake Louise, Alberta Lake Louise is a hamlet within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Named after Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, it lies in Alberta's Rockies on the Bow River, northeast of the lake that shares its name. Initially settled in 1884 as an ...

and

Field, British Columbia Field is an unincorporated community of approximately 169 people located in the Kicking Horse River valley of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, within the confines of Yoho National Park. At an elevation of , it is west of Lake Louise al ...

using this route in 1884, in preference to the original survey through the more northerly

Yellowhead Pass The Yellowhead Pass is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the provincial boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper ...

. The original section of the CPR between the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

of the pass near Wapta Lake and Field was known as " The Big Hill". With a

ruling gradient The term ruling grade is usually used as a synonym for "steepest climb" between two points on a railroad. More simply, the steepest grade to be climbed dictates how powerful the motive power (or how light the train) must be in order for the run to ...

of 4.5% (1 in 23), it was the steepest stretch of main-line

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. 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.

Road

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

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

, 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 .B.C. Trans-Canada Highway
/ref> The

Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...

cycling route includes the pass.

Television

Dave Broadfoot Dave Broadfoot (December 5, 1925 – November 1, 2016) was a Canadian comedian and satirist. He is best known for his performances as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Farce.CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

series '' Royal Canadian Air Farce'' and in his personal standup routines.

Images

Kicking Horse Pass BC AB on the Trans Canadian Highway August 2013.jpg, Looking easterly at Kicking Horse Pass from the Trans Canadian Highway File:Spiral Tunnels 1908 Kodak.jpg, Panorama of the tunnels from the west, 1908 The Big Hill on the

References

External links

Zoomable map of Kicking Horse Pass showing railway

Ten Mile Hill Project HD VideoLibriVox Audiobook Recordings
{{Authority control Canadian Rockies Mountain passes of Alberta Mountain passes of British Columbia Great Divide of North America Rail mountain passes of Alberta Rail mountain passes of British Columbia Heritage sites in British Columbia Canadian Pacific Railway National Historic Sites in Alberta National Historic Sites in British Columbia Borders of British Columbia Borders of Alberta Mountains of Banff National Park Mountains of Yoho National Park