Jackpine Pass

Alberta-BC boundary. Pass
Fraser River and Smoky River drainages
W of Mount Bess, E of Jackpine Mountain
53.3586 N 119.4308 W — Map 083E06 — GoogleGeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1915 (Jobe)
Name officially adopted in 1925
Official in BCCanada

The pass was named after the Jackpine River by the 1915 expedition to Mount Kitchi (Mount Sir Alexander) by Mary Lenore Jobe Akeley [1878–1966] and Donald “Curly” Phillips [1884–1938].

“It is the crossing of the watershed that gives access to the head of the Jackpine River valley; hence the name,” wrote Arthur Oliver Wheeler [1860–1945] in his report on the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission survey.

“Bess Pass, 5,330 feet in altitude and Jackpine Pass, 6,694 feet, are on the route north [of Mount Robson] to Mt. Sir Alexander. The former is situated in very spectacular surroundings between Mt. Bess and Mt. Whiteshield: the latter is much frequented by grizzlies…,” Wheeler wrote in his articles on passes on the continental divide.

References:

  • Jobe Akeley, Mary Lenore [1878–1966]. “The expedition to ‘Mt. Kitchi:’ A new peak in the Canadian Rockies.” Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 6 (1914–1915):135-143
  • Cautley, Richard William [1873–1953], and Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. Report of the Commission appointed to delimit the boundary between the Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Part II. 1917 to 1921. From Kicking Horse Pass to Yellowhead Pass.. Ottawa: Office of the Surveyor General, 1924. Whyte Museum
  • Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. “Passes of the Great Divide.” Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 16 (1927–1927):117-135

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