The Abbot Pass hut was an

alpine hut A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization ...

located at an altitude of in Abbot Pass in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

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 Ter ...

, Canada. It was nestled between Mount Victoria and

Mount Lefroy Mount Lefroy is a mountain on the Continental Divide, at the border of Alberta and British Columbia in western Canada. The mountain is located on the eastern side of Abbot Pass which separates Lake Louise in Banff National Park from Lake O'Hara ...

, straddling the Great Divide, which, in this region, defines the boundary between Banff National Park in Alberta and

Yoho National Park Yoho National Park ( ) is a national park of Canada. It is located within the Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordered by Kootenay National Park to the south and ...

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, ...

. While close to the border, the hut lay entirely in Banff National Park, and was the second-highest permanently habitable structure in Canada (after the

Neil Colgan Hut The Neil Colgan Hut is an alpine hut located at an altitude of on the Fay Glacier in Kootenay National Park in British Columbia, Canada. It is in a col between Mount Little and Mount Bowlen, one of the peaks overlooking the Valley of the Ten ...

). The hut was maintained by the

Alpine Club of Canada The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) is an amateur athletic association with its national office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler ...

. It was closed in the summer of 2018 pending a geotechnical evaluation of the slope which underlies the structure, after a hiker noticed erosion on its eastern side, due to melting glacier ice. The hut never reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed repair work, and despite having been declared a National Heritage site in 1992, was deemed irreparable and in June 2022, demolished.

History

The pass and the hut are named after Philip Stanley Abbot (1867 - 1896), who became the first mountaineering fatality in North America after he fell in an attempt to make the first ascent of Mount Lefroy in 1896. The hut was built in 1922 by Swiss guides working for the Canadian Alpine Association to shelter clients attempting to climb Victoria and Lefroy. Much of the construction material was carried from Lake Louise on horseback across the Victoria Glacier and winched or carried on guides' backs up the pass on a route known as ''The Deathtrap'' because of its exposure to avalanches and crevasses. The CAC operated the hut for 40 years, and in the 1960s turned the operation over to Parks Canada, which renovated it with the help of volunteers. In 1985, the park service turned the hut over to the

, which renovated it several times. The hut was designated Abbot Pass Refuge Cabin

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 ...

in 1992, and, in 1997, a federal plaque was placed outside its front door. Because many guests of the Chateau Lake Louise were trying mountaineering for the first time, Edward Feuz, a Swiss guide, suggested that the CPR build a rest stop between Lake Louise and the hut. In 1924 the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House was built to accommodate overnight guests.

Access

Abbot Pass (and the hut) may be approached from either the

Lake O'Hara Lake O'Hara is a lake at an elevation of in the alpine area of Yoho National Park, in the province of British Columbia, on the western side of the Great Divide with the province of Alberta and Banff National Park to the east. The lake and the v ...

area on the

side (hiking past Lake Oesa), or the more technically demanding route from Lake Louise on the

side. The hut was rarely used in winter due to avalanche hazard.

From Lake O'Hara

The approach via

was by far the most popular route to the hut. It was safer and less technical than going in via ''the Deathtrap'' or the ''Fuhrmann Ledges''. It involved about 900 metres (3,000 feet) of elevation gain and 3 to 5+ hours from Lake O'Hara to the hut depending on conditions and the strength of the party. Some groups were caught out overnight on the trail or stranded at the hut in bad weather conditions. The first hurdle on this approach was getting on the bus to

. The bus is operated by Parks Canada and is used to control the number of people going to Lake O'Hara. Reservations are difficult to obtain; however an automatic reservation on the bus could be obtained by booking a reservation at the Abbot Pass hut with the

. The alternative was to walk 10 km up the access road carrying all equipment. From Lake O'Hara, people going to the hut could follow the signed

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trails to Lake Oesa to a sign marking the end of the Parks Canada trail, at which point it became largely

scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It is also used to describe terrain that falls between hiking and rock climbing (as a “scrambl ...

. A trail was built to the hut by the Alpine Club, but parts of it were sometimes erased by

rockslide A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses ''en masse'' and not in individual blocks. Note that a rockslide is similar to an avalanc ...

s, so route finding skills are helpful. It is steep and covered with

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ...

. A

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

is a good safety precaution in case of

rockfall A rockfall or rock-fallWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . is a quantity/sheets of rock that has fallen freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or walls of mi ...

, and an

ice axe An ice axe is a multi-purpose hiking and climbing tool used by mountaineers in both the ascent and descent of routes that involve snow, ice, or frozen conditions. Its use depends on the terrain: in its simplest role it is used like a walking ...

in case of ice or snow on the trail. One

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...

fatality occurred on the route, so it should not be undertaken when avalanches are possible.

From Lake Louise

The route from Lake Louise involves significant objective hazards. A broad path leads from the

Chateau Lake Louise The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is a Fairmont hotel on the eastern shore of Lake Louise, near Banff, Alberta. The original hotel was gradually developed at the turn of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway and was thus "kin" to its ...

along the lake shore past the teahouse and on to the Plain of Six Glaciers. It then continues into the deep gorge between Mount Victoria and

- known as The Deathtrap. Persons going through this should move rapidly in case of serac fall or

s from the glaciers above. It involves crossing a number of

crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...

s in the glacier and may be impassible due to wall-to-wall

bergschrund A bergschrund (from the German for ''mountain cleft'') or rimaye (from French; ) is a crevasse that forms where moving glacier ice separates from the stagnant ice or firn above. It is often a serious obstacle for mountaineers, who sometimes ab ...

at the upper end. This is not an attractive route and should only be attempted by strong alpinists when there is deep snow cover on the glacier.

Activities

The hut was often used as a base for alpine climbing on Mount Victoria and

(both over 3400 metres / 11,000 feet), and as a destination in itself for ambitious hikers. One of the reasons for the popularity of the hut was that climbers can ascend both Victoria and Lefroy in a weekend. The normal route up Mount Lefroy (3423 m / 11,230 ft) is via the west face, going straight up the slopes from the hut toward the summit. There are routes up three separate gullies from the hut. The choice of the best one depends on snow conditions. The most popular route up Mount Victoria (3464 m / 11,365 ft) is from the hut via the southeast ridge to the south summit. Another popular route is a traverse of Mount Victoria, which can be done in either direction, either to or from the hut. In a rarely observed feat of ursine mountaineering, a grizzly bear was once seen doing the traverse of Mount Victoria via Abbot Pass. They are only occasional visitors to the hut; however, a grizzly known as "Bear 125" used the pass on a regular basis until he was shot dead in 2014 in British Columbia's annual grizzly bear hunt. https://www.rmotoday.com/local-news/wide-ranging-grizzly-shot-in-b-c-1565797

Facilities

The hut slept 24 on its upper floor, and had both a wood stove for heating and drying, and a propane system for cooking and lighting. Wood and propane were flown in annually by helicopter, by the Alpine Club of Canada. There was a drum-type outhouse a short distance from the hut and human waste was flown out by helicopter.

Nearby

* Mount Victoria *

* Lake Louise *

Elizabeth Parker hut The Elizabeth Parker hut is an alpine hut located in Yoho National Park near Lake O'Hara in British Columbia. The hut is maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada. History The hut was named after the alpinist Elizabeth Parker, one of the foundin ...

Maps

* * This map shows trails and area highlights in detail * This map shows trails and area highlights in detail * *

References

External links

Abbot Pass hut
at th
Alpine Club of Canada

Weather forecasts from Environment Canada

Public avalanche bulletins
from

Avalanche Canada Avalanche Canada is a non-government, non-profit organization whose vision is to eliminate avalanche fatalities and injuries in Canada. Avalanche Canada is Canada's national public avalanche safety organization. Based in Revelstoke, British Columbi ...

.
Yoho National Park
a
Parks Canada

Google Earth
Find the Abbot Pass hut at 51°21′50.598″ N, 116°17′24.7488″ W {{NHSC Mountain huts in Canada National Historic Sites in Alberta Buildings and structures in Banff National Park Stone houses Buildings and structures on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Classified Federal Heritage Building 1922 establishments in Alberta Buildings and structures completed in 1922 Demolished buildings and structures in Alberta Buildings and structures demolished in 2022 Demolished sports venues