Unfortunately by lunchtime the weather had broken and heavy rain clouded our climb through the Rockies. This was also supposed to be the section of the route where we couldspot the most wildlife. Sadly that also proved to be wrong, in fact it became quite a joke with ‘pink elephants being spotted to the left and right’! In fairness, however, what bear or elk in their right mind was going to stand by the railway in torrential rain for our benefit!!
To keep us amused, however, we had the Spiral Tunnels to look forward to, built to overcome one of the weakest links in the CanadianPacific (CP) Rail line, “Big Hill” – an 8-mile stretch between Field and Hector British Columbia (BC). The original line was built in 1884 and intended to be temporary until an alternative could be found. Not only was it dangerous at 4.5% incline but cost a fortune in repairs, wages and operational expenses.
In 1907, construction began on the Spiral Tunnels, modelled after a similar system in Switzerland – and I have also travelled through a similar system on the Flam Line in Norway. It took 1,000 men, 20 months to complete and necessitated the excavation of 750,000 cubic yards of rock and cost over $1m to build but importantly it allowed the incline to be reduced to 2.2%.
The Lower Spiral is tunnelled through Mt Ogden and is 2,922 feet in length and turns through 230 degrees to the left, emerging 56 feet higher then its entrance (See photo). The Upper Spiral travels through Cathedral Mountain and is 3,255 feet long and turns 250 degrees to the right emerging 50 feet higher than its entrance.
The tunnels were described in the railway timetables of the day as: “The whole thing is a perfect maze, the railway doubling back on itself twice, tunnelling under mountains and crossing the Kicking Horse River twice in order to cut down the grade.”
Some 3 miles on and we were passing Wapta Lake – Wapta being the Stoney First Nation word for ‘river’. At 5,203 feet above sea level this lake is the source of the KickingHorse River.
A few miles later and we were at the highest point of our journey – 5,332 feet above sea level and at the ‘Continental Divide’ – the boundary between the Banff National Park in Alberta that we were about to enter and the Yoho National Park in British Columbia. It is also the point that marks the divide between the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds.
Unfortunately the torrential rain shrouded the emerald green waters of the Lake Louise and the Mount Victoria Glacier as we began our descent to Banff and sadly to the end of this magnificent journey.
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