Attempts have been made to approach the crest of the range from the west by the lateral valleys descending to the Columbia River, but the travelling proved to be exceptionally bad even for the Rockies, and this line of attack is only mentioned to be dismissed. The explorations above mentioned were carried on wholly on the eastern side of the range, and the route generally followed holds so important a place in mountaineering geography that it must be described in some detail. Starting from Laggan, it ascends the valley of the Bow River, running parallel to the Waputik Range, to the Bow Pass. Thence it descends into the basin of the North Saskatchewan by the south branch of that river (also called Bear Creek, and, more rarely, the Mistaya River), and leaves it again by the north branch. Both these streams, as their names suggest, also run parallel to the main chain. At the head of the north branch the Wilcox Pass leads to the valley of the Athabasca, which also runs nearly due north, and is followed till the G.T.P. Railway is reached at Jasper. The ‘air line’ from Laggan to Jasper is just 130 miles, and a good idea of the scale and character of the journey may be formed by comparing it with that from Chur to Martigny, which are almost precisely the same distance apart. Starting from Chur, the Vorderrhein represents the Upper Bow, and the Oberalp the Bow Pass. The Reuss corresponds to the North Saskatchewan, the Furca to Wilcox Pass, and the Rhone to the Athabasca. In each case the main chain is on the traveller’s left hand, while other ranges of varying size and importance rise on his right, though, unfortunately, the Rockies have nothing comparable to the Bernese Oberland. Of course there is no correspondence, in point of distance, between the intervening points. Very roughly speaking, it is 70 miles to Wilcox Pass, the valleys of the Upper Bow and the two branches of the Saskatchewan being each a little over 20 miles in length, while it is about 60 miles from Wilcox Pass to Jasper. The early explorers all started from Laggan, and only one of them, Dr. Coleman,[53] followed the route here described throughout its whole length. It is scarcely necessary to point out how enormously its importance and value have been enhanced by the construction of the second line of railway.
The groups mentioned above are progressively more imperfectly known as one moves farther north, mainly owing to the difficulty of time and the necessity which formerly existed of a long return journey. The mountains north of Wilcox Pass can now be much more rapidly and easily reached from Jasper. Those which enclose the Whirlpool River are still almost untouched, and would well repay a prolonged visit. The best line of attack for those on the left bank (the fifth or Edith Cavell group) would probably be found by going through the depression to the west of Mount Edith Cavell. The ascent from the Whirlpool trail to it is steep, but a good packer could get horses up it. Mount Edith Cavell was approached by this route and climbed by Mr. E. D. Holway in 1915. Some of the mountains to the west of the depression look difficult.[54] On the opposite side of the Whirlpool, which in its ordinary condition is fordable here, a large valley running deeply into the mountains on the right bank looks well adapted to facilitate the exploration of the blank space on Dr. Coleman’s map between the Whirlpool and Wood Rivers; horses could probably be taken up it. The starting-point for this valley or for the Edith Cavell depression can be reached in three days from Jasper.[55]
Close to the Yellowhead Pass, Mount Fitzwilliam, a prominent rock peak, must be of exceptional interest as a view-point, and may be a good climb as well.
The Groups East of the Main Chain.
Of the groups situated to the east of the main chain, the one between the Bow and Saskatchewan Rivers can be traversed by the Pipestone Creek and Pass and Siffleur Creek. This route, which reaches the Saskatchewan a few miles below the confluence of its north and south branches, was several times used as an alternative to that by the Bow Pass; and there are transverse passes from the Upper Bow Valley to both the Pipestone and the Siffleur Creeks, but the early explorers seem to have found no great inducements to linger in this region.[56]
A much larger block of mountains is that which separates the Saskatchewan from the Athabasca, and gives rise to its important tributary, the Brazeau; its southern portion was crossed in three or four directions by Dr. Coleman,[57] who is the only authority on it that I have come across. In the northern portion, between Mount Brazeau and the Athabasca, is Maligne Lake, reached in 1908 by Mrs. Schæffer’s party,[58] the first white visitors, via Poboktan Creek, and probably also accessible by a pass nearly opposite the mouth of the Whirlpool Valley. The few people who have visited Maligne Lake are remarkably enthusiastic about it, and, judging from photographs, the peaks round its head should prove very interesting to climbers. Much more is likely to be heard of them in the near future, as the lower end of the lake is only fifteen miles from Jasper by the valley—hitherto impassable for horses—of the Maligne River, up which a trail will certainly be made very shortly, if it has not been already completed, and the results of further investigation will have an important effect on the reputation of Jasper as a centre.
The Main Chain North of the G.T.P.
We now come to the mountains north of the G.T.P. Railway, which spread over an extensive and indefinite area, of which our present knowledge may be described as considerable but patchy. Mount Robson, the magnet which first drew explorers here in the pre-railway days, is, and must remain, the principal centre of interest. It is the great alpine asset of the G.T.P., and an hotel will probably soon arise somewhere near Mount Robson Station, opposite the mouth of the Grand Forks River, a tributary of the Fraser. Up the Grand Forks Valley the base of its western face—the best line of ascent—can now be reached in a long half-day, by rail and trail, from Jasper. Very full information with regard to this great peak, the highest in the Canadian Rockies, and its satellites and surroundings, is now available, but it would take too long to deal with it here.[59] Swift Current Creek and two or three other valleys descending into the Fraser below the Grand Forks were visited by Mr. Holway in 1915 and 1916; he reports: “A wonderful field for exploration, especially in the big bend of the Fraser.” The same energetic explorer paid a brief visit in 1916 to the Cariboo Range, on the other side of the Fraser, probably the most important of the independent minor ranges.[60]
The main watershed immediately to the north of Mount Robson (Robson Pass) consists of a long flat plain, so level that the water issuing from the Robson Glacier flows both ways. All climbing hitherto has been done from camps on this plain, which was formerly inaccessible, except by actual climbing, from the much lower Grand Forks Valley, and attainable only by a roundabout route from the east via the Moose River and Pass. It can now be reached via the Grand Forks by a trail engineered in 1913, in seven or eight hours from Mount Robson Station. If an ascent of Mount Robson itself be the sole object, it would probably be the quickest way—as above suggested—to go up to a bivouac direct from the Grand Forks Valley; but the higher camping-ground on the divide is much the best centre for exploring the neighbourhood generally. The round trip by the Moose River route is also worth making for its own sake, especially if time permits of some climbing being done on the way. There are interesting expeditions to be made near the Moose Pass: Resplendent Valley, at the head of the West Fork of the Moose River, is well worth a visit, and, though the actual line of the divide has been laid down by Mr. Wheeler, there is still exploratory work to be done among the mountains between the East Fork and Grant Creek.
For the whole of this region Mr. Wheeler’s map[61] is indispensable. The mountains facing Mount Robson immediately on the other side of the level plain above mentioned have all been climbed, but behind these there is a remarkable region which is still very little known. The range duplicates itself in a curious way difficult to explain on paper, enclosing a low plateau, along which, strange to say, the main divide seems to run. On the eastern side of the plateau is the Chown group, first visited by Dr. Collie’s party in 1911.[62] Our further knowledge of the country in this direction is mainly due to Donald Phillips, who has made a rough sketch-map extending considerably farther north,[63] and conducted three expeditions farther still, through very difficult country, to Mount Sir Alexander[64] and Jarvis Pass. This is the farthest north yet reached by climbers. Whether there are any alpine regions beyond it is, I believe, quite uncertain.