Rogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, but the term also includes the approaches used by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and the Trans-Canada Highway. In the heart of Glacier National Park, this tourism destination since 1886 is a National Historic Site. Topography Rogers Pass is the lowest route between the Sir Donald and Hermit ranges of the Selkirks, providing a shortcut along the southern perimeter of the Big Bend of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east. The pass is formed by the headwaters of the Illecillewaet River to the west and by the Beaver River to the east. These rivers are tributaries of the Columbia, which arcs to the north. Railway Proposal & planning During the 1870s, when the transcontinental was being planned, the preferred route through the Canadian Rockies was the northerly Yellowhead Pass. After awarding the contract, the government allowed CP to amend the designated crossing to the Kicking Horse Pass. Although believing the change advantageous, hindsight indicates the Yellowhead and CP's 1898 Crowsnest Pass would have provided a more economical and strategic combination. Poor judgement best describes this unfortunate decision that created lasting impediments for both the railway and highway. Discovery of the pass While the transcontinental advanced across the prairies, the railway sought a way over the unexplored Selkirks. In April 1881, CP offered Major A.B. Rogers naming rights and a $5,000 bonus to locate a pass. Walter Moberly had discovered Eagle Pass just to the west, and based on suggestions in Moberly's reports, Rogers started out from what is now Revelstoke, up the Illecillewaet River. On May 28, 1881, the party followed a branch of the river past "Syndicate Peak" (now Mount Sir Donald), discovering a large level opening between the mountains where the waters flowed east and west. (Some secondary sources state that Rogers only saw the pass from a distance, but this is contradicted by first-hand reports.) To get a better view of the landscape, Rogers, his nephew A.L. Rogers and some of their Shuswap guides then climbed to the crest of a nearby mountain ridge, later identified as the ridge between Mount Macdonald and Avalanche Mountain. From here they could see the Beaver River valley on the east side of the Selkirks. Running out of food, the party turned back west. Although they had found