Kicking Horse Pass

The Kicking Horse Pass (elevation 1627 m) is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies near the border between Alberta and British Columbia, and lying within Yoho and Banff National Parks.

CPR freight in Yoho National Park climbing towards the Kicking Horse Pass

The pass is of historical significance because the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed between Lake Louise, Alberta and Field, British Columbia using this route in 1880's, in preference to the originally planned route through the more northerly Yellowhead Pass.

The pass was first explored by Europeans in 1858 by an expedition led by Captain John Palliser. The pass and the adjacent Kicking Horse River were given their names after James Hector, a naturalist, geologist, and surgeon who was a member of the expedition, was kicked by his horse while exploring the region.

The original route of the CPR between the summit of the pass near Wapta Lake and Field was known as "The Big Hill"; with a ruling gradient of 4.5 percent it was the steepest strech of main-line railroad in North America.

Due to frequent accidents and expensive helper engines associated with railroading in the pass, the CPR opened a pair of Spiral Tunnels in 1909 that replaced the direct route. Although these tunnels add several km to the route, the ruling grade was reduced to a more manageable 2.2 percent.

The Trans-Canada Highway was constructed through the pass in 1962 following essentially the original CPR route.

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