The Canadian Pacific Railway needed a route through the Selkirk Mountains to complete the transcontinental line. Major A.B. Rogers, a surveyor, found the pass in 1881 after years of searching. The railway was built through in 1885, completing the line. Rogers' discovery earned him a $5,000 bonus check; he initially refused to cash it, preferring to frame it. He eventually cashed it only when Van Horne promised him a gold watch as a souvenir. What Rogers found was a natural corridor through brutal terrain - but the snow that accumulated in the surrounding peaks posed dangers no one fully anticipated.

The Rogers Pass section of the CPR was the most dangerous on the entire transcontinental route. Avalanches swept down regularly, burying tracks, demolishing snowsheds, and killing workers. The worst disaster came on March 4, 1910, when a crew was clearing avalanche debris. A second avalanche struck, killing 58 men - Canada's worst avalanche disaster. The victims included many Japanese Canadian workers. Over 200 people died in avalanches along this stretch between 1885 and 1911. The railroad eventually gave up; the Connaught Tunnel (1916) and later Mount Macdonald Tunnel (1988) routed trains beneath the pass rather than over it.

When the Trans-Canada Highway was completed through Rogers Pass in 1962, engineers knew the avalanche risk. They built snowsheds - concrete tunnels through which the highway passes beneath avalanche paths. But not every slide zone could be covered. Instead, Parks Canada developed the world's most sophisticated avalanche control program. When snow conditions warrant, the highway closes and crews fire 105mm howitzer shells into known slide areas, triggering controlled avalanches that clear the slopes before natural releases threaten traffic. The program fires over 1,500 rounds annually. The highway still closes for control work and occasionally for unexpected slides.

The Rogers Pass avalanche control program uses military artillery, helicopter bombing, and Gazex (remotely triggered gas exploders) to manage over 130 avalanche paths. Control missions can close the highway for hours. Parks Canada staff monitor weather, snow conditions, and slope stability continuously. When conditions warrant, they request road closure and begin firing. The bombardment can be heard for miles; the resulting avalanches roar down slopes and across the highway corridor. After clearing, the highway reopens. The system isn't perfect - slides occasionally catch vehicles - but it has dramatically reduced casualties compared to the railroad era.

Rogers Pass is located on the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) in Glacier National Park (Canada), approximately 80 kilometers east of Revelstoke and 150 kilometers west of Golden. The Rogers Pass Discovery Centre provides exhibits on railroad history, avalanche control, and mountain ecology. The Abandoned Rails Trail follows the old CPR route past snow sheds and the 1910 avalanche site. Glacier National Park offers hiking, including approaches to the Illecillewaet Glacier. Winter travel through Rogers Pass requires winter tires; be prepared for highway closures during avalanche control or severe weather. Calgary is 300 kilometers east; Vancouver is 600 kilometers west. The pass is crossed year-round, but winter showcases the avalanche terrain that makes this passage so challenging.