Snowed in

We left Noah's Ark mid morning and set off towards Revelstoke. It was raining as we started to climb higher into the mountains to enter the Glacier National Park. This is avalanche country and there were signs everywhere.

The original highway between Revelstoke and Golden followed the Columbia River around the Big Bend to avoid crossing Rogers Pass. Between 1956 and 1962 a new highway was built over the pass to shorten the route, which now formed part of the Trans-Canada Highway.

We carried on to Rogers Pass through a number of snow sheds and earth dams which are used to protect the highway from avalanches. Rogers Pass is home to the largest mobile avalanche control program in the world. Parks Canada and the Department of National Defence work together to keep the pass safe for traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway and the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline.

We stopped at the Rogers Pass visitors centre which must have been under 6ft of snow. Clearly we couldn't get in the door in the photo but they had cut a path into another door. The depth of snow was staggering and we could only imagine what this area must be like in winter.

We then carried on to Golden as our final destination for the day. After a trip around town we had a lovely dinner at the Kicking Horse Grill. The owner was Dutch and we chatted for ages about how he had ended up in Golden and a shared passion for good food. Our camp site is right on the bank of the Kicking Horse River with mountains all around and another perfect view.


Rogers Pass Visitors Centre, Trans-Canada Highway, B.C