summer of 1888, climbing Mount Bonney and Green's Peak. Harold Topham, a British climber, made many first ascents in 1890 including Mount Fox; he later joined with Henry Forster, and two Swiss climbers, Emil Huber and Carl Sulzer to explore the southern peaks of the park. Huber and Sulzer also claimed the prized first ascent of the dramatic Mount Sir Donald. Arthur Oliver Wheeler, a cartographer, climber, and founding member of the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC), came to Glacier House in 1901. This started a thirty-year relationship with the northern Selkirks, which saw Wheeler map the region, publish large reference works on its geography, and explore much of the park's terrain. An ACC hut near the Illecillewaet campground bears his name, as well as a peak and a pass. Professor Charles Ernest Fay, first president of the American Alpine Club, after visiting the park in the 1890s, publicized it in the club's magazine. By the 1900s, almost all of the park's prominent peaks had seen human tracks. Connaught Tunnel and the Trans-Canada Highway After its first winter in operation in 1886, it became clear to the CPR that the heavy snows of Rogers Pass were going to be a serious challenge. Extensive snow sheds were built to shelter the rails from frequent avalanches. These wood sheds became a fire hazard in the summer months, so a separate summer track was built. In 1910, while clearing one slide, another avalanche came down Avalanche Mountain, killing 62 men. More than half the workers killed in the slide were of Japanese descent. In all, two hundred railway employees were killed between 1886 and 1916. In 1912, the CPR admitted defeat and started the construction of an eight-kilometre tunnel under the pass and Mount Macdonald. The Connaught Tunnel opened in 1916. The new tunnel bypassed Glacier House's siding, and the resulting lack of rail passengers spelled the end for the once-popular hotel. It was closed in 1925, and torn down four years later. The park saw few visitors besides campers from the Alpine Club of Canada's summer camps for the next thirty years. Until this point, automobile travellers crossing the Columbia Mountains had to use the circuitous Big Bend Highway, which followed the upper reaches of the Columbia River north in a large loop. With the planned inundation of much of that valley by hydro projects outlined in the Columbia River Treaty, a