Palliser's Party: When British medical doctor, geologist, and natural historian James Hector was appointed to the Palliser surveying expedition of 1858, he added his impressive intellectual credentials to a 5-member team that included a botanist, an astronomer, and a magnetic observer. John Palliser, leader of the expedition was himself a well-to-do Irish landowner, experienced buffalo hunter, continental traveler and gentleman adventurer. Just as the Hudson's Bay Company's charter was coming up for renewal, Palliser persuaded the British government, under the auspices of the Royal Geological Society, to finance a full-scale surveying expedition to the Canadian west. His assignment was to cover 3 geographical areas: Lake Superior to Red River, Red River to the Rocky Mountains, and the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast.

Natural Namesake: For 3 years, the Palliser expedition crisscrossed the Prairies, mapping, charting, assembling magnetic and meteorological records and gathering detailed botanical, zoological and geological data. In order to survey the vast territory, members of the team sometimes fanned out on individual missions. In August of 1858, James Hector set out in search of mountain passes, crossing the Continental Divide into a western river valley. At his camp near Wapta Falls, a packhorse bolted, and Hector gave chase. As he rounded up the horse, it kicked him, breaking his ribs and knocking him into unconsciousness. His guides, thinking him dead, began to dig his grave. But the indomitable Hector came to, recovered, and followed the river east to its summit pass. Both the river and the pass were named "Kicking Horse," for Hector's ornery steed.

Proud Post-Script: After filing detailed maps and comprehensive scientific studies of what is today Banff, Kootenay and Yoho National Parks, James Hector went on to become one of New Zealand's foremost geologists and natural scientists. He was appointed chancellor of New Zealand University in 1885, became the government's key advisor in matters of science and education, and was knighted in 1887. Shortly before his death in 1907, Hector returned to Canada to re-visit the scene of his famous discovery in the Canadian Rockies.

Conquering the Big Hill: The Spiral Tunnels of the Canadian Pacific Railway
When Donald A. Smith drove the last spike into the steel rail of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1885, he marked the fulfillment of a Confederation promise to build a trans-continental railway that would join the Pacific coast with Eastern Canada. Keeping that promise had been a costly undertaking, not only in dollars, but in personal and political integrity, public safety and human life. Forging a route through the Rocky Mountains was a terrifying and treacherous assignment for the thousands of labourers charged with the task of building a railway through terrain suited more to mountain goats and bighorn sheep than wooden ties and timber trestles.

Heading west from Lake Louise, Alberta, CPR trains faced a challenging, chugging climb up the mountain to Kicking Horse Pass, the highest point on the transcontinental mainline. But for apprehensive locomotive engineers, whose taut nerves matched the steel of the rail below, the way up was just a courage-stoking warm-up for the way down.

Deadly Descent: On the western slope, between Hector and the division point at Field, British Columbia, the train crew faced a hurtling, headlong drop of almost 300 metres in just over 6 kilometres. The grade, of 4.5%, was 10 times greater than the gradient normally permitted. Even with a built-in safety net of runaway spur lines along the route, many accidents occurred on the dangerous downhill run, and several railroaders lost their lives. The steep grade also proved to be financially costly: 4 locomotives were required to move even the shortest trains up the mountain.

Schwitzer's Solution: In 1907, after 25 years of dangerous descents, Canadian Pacific Railway design engineer John E. Schwitzer proposed a solution: 2 spiral-shaped tunnels, with tracks that crossed over themselves in a figure-8 pattern. The twisting tunnels, based on a design from Switzerland, would lengthen the rail line and reduce the gradient. The Spiral Tunnels were completed in 1909, doubling the distance between Hector and Field, and reducing the grade by almost half, to 2.2%. The tunnels continue to be used today as part of the CPR mainline, and are the only tunnels of their kind in North America.

Tunnel Trivia
• The spiral tunnels cause the railway to double upon itself twice.
• From the east, the track enters Tunnel No. 1, 961 metres in length, turns under Cathedral Mountain at an angle of 250 degrees on a 172 metre radius, passes under itself and emerges at the exit 16.2 metres lower.
• The train then enters Tunnel No. 2, under Mount Ogden. It is 867 metres long, and has a similar radius through an angle of 232 degrees. It produces a difference in elevation of 13.5 metres.
• The railway crosses the valley by 3 lines, and the Kicking Horse River by 4 bridges.
• It took 2 years, 1,000 workers and $1.5 million to excavate 54,000 cubic metres of rock during tunnel construction of 1907-1909.

Swiss Guides and the Golden Era of Mountaineering
In 1899, with its new railway up and running through some of the world's most spectacular mountain peaks, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company was quick to recognize that mountain climbing could be a lucrative new tourism opportunity. European enthusiasts, inspired by the scaling of the Matterhorn in 1865, had already run out of unclimbed peaks; the Canadian Rockies offered a new frontier.

In order to kick-start a Canadian-based mountaineering mania (and limit their own safety liability), the CPR employed a clever marketing strategy. They imported certified mountain climbing guides from Switzerland and paid them to lead amateur climbers safely up the mountains. The first "Swiss guides" to arrive in the Rocky Mountains were Edouard Feuz Sr. and Christian Haesler. In time, more guides (including the sons of Edouard Fuez) joined the C.P.R. ranks, working from stations at Glacier, Lake Louise and Field.

At first, the guides spent summers in the Rockies and returned to Switzerland in the fall; eventually, many moved their families permanently to Golden, British Columbia, where they lived in housing built for them by their employers. The Guides made many ground-breaking ascents and scouting trips, establishing routes for later climbers. In 1922, the Guides built the Abbot's Pass Hut, the highest building in the Canadian Rockies, between Mount Victoria and Mount Lefroy at Lake Louise.

In addition to guiding for sport, the Swiss mountaineers were often called out to rescue stranded or injured climbers. In 55 years of service, the Guides maintained an impressive safety record: no fatal accidents happened on mountain tours guided by the Swiss professionals.