Arthur Meighen

Ontario-born Arthur Meighen [1874-1960] succeeded Robert Borden as Prime Minister of Canada in 1920. Meighen was responsible for many measures under which the World War I was prosecuted, including the conglomeration of the Canadian Northern Railway, Grand Trunk Railway, and Grand Trunk Pacific Railway as the nationalized Canadian National Railway.

“The shrill resounding whistles of numbers of hoary marmots greeted us from all sides as they sent forth their notes of surprise, indignation and warning as we topped the crest; and there is no sound that gives a more eerie feeling that this same long drawn whistle heard unexpectedly in the solitudes of the high mountain valleys. It was named Arctomys Valley in their honor.” So wrote surveyor and alpinist Arthur Oliver Wheeler [1860–1945] after the 1911 Alpine Club of Canada–Smithsonian Robson Expedition.

Although the North American marmot is of the genus Marmota, the rodent that inhabits the Alps and Pyrenees is of the genus Arctomys, a word derived from the Latin for “mountain mouse.”

George R. B. Kinney [1872–1961], a member of the 1911 Alpine Club of Canada–Smithsonian Robson Expedition to the Mount Robson region in 1911, discovered the cave in the Arctomys Valley in 1911.

“In the valley where the stream has its origin, Kinney discovered a rock opening which seemed to lead into the bowels of the earth,” wrote expedition leader Arthur Oliver Wheeler [1860–1945]. “It is evidently a rift in the strata, which here dips steeply. This through the action of water, has been widened into a deep shaft leading down, goodness knows how deep. …

“The shaft, it can hardly be called a cave, was examined with candle, rope and barometer. The opening, a slit in a shallow depression, at one time undoubtedly furnished a water exit to lower levels. It is only large enough to admit one at a time. We descended 250 feet by barometer measurements to a point where a small stream of water tumbles through a tributary crack. Beyond that the going is wet and the exploration was not carried further, as there was no change in the character of the subterranean shaft. Kinney claimed that, at the time of his discovery, he had gone some distance beyond the fall. The crack descends at an angle of about 65 deg. or 70 deg. from the horizontal. The rock is hard and rough, and affords food hand and foot holds. In places the width is ten to twenty feet and minor cracks lead off here and there. The walls are a dark limestone, dun colored on the outside surface from seepage of the lime. There were no stalactites more than two or three inches length, and, generally speaking, it was unattractive. It appeared to be one of these subterranean waterways that are frequently encountered in mountains of a limestone formation.”

There is no record of subsequent visitation until 1971–1973 when cavers from the McMaster University Climbing and Caving Club, Guelph University Caving Club, Alberta Speleological Society and some visiting British cavers explored and surveyed the cave to its maximum depth of -522 metres. Passages above the entrance were surveyed by British and Canadian cavers in 1983 resulting in the current vertical range of 536 metres. Arctomys Cave was the deepest known cave in Canada for many years, until surpassed by Bisaro Anima Cave in 2017 with its depth of 670 metres.

Arctomys Cave is formed in the steeply-dipping Mural Formation limestone of the Early Cambrian Gog Group. The top half of the cave (The Endless Climb) descends relatively steeply, but at a depth of about 400 metres the cave becomes more horizontal with several pools, and ends at a sump. Despite its great depth, the cave includes only five pitches up to 15m deep. Although most of the cave is undecorated, the Straw Gallery has flowstone and relatively long soda straws.

Arctomys Cave is the site of Canada’s most extensive cave rescue attempt. On October 17, 1991, Rick Blak, an experienced caver and park ranger at Mount Robson Park, was struck by a falling boulder deep in the cave and perished. One hundred and ten people were involved in the complex recovery of his body.

According to the the Mount Robson Park management plan (2011), “Arctomys Cave holds some attraction to both domestic and international cavers, but it receives only very light use, largely owing to its remote location. Caving is not promoted in the park; however, it is recognized as an appropriate activity.”

Mount Robson Ranch staff, 1930: Art Allen, Chuck Chesser, Anne Chesser, Frank Hargreaves, Rose Saladana and Ted Schieve.
Valemount & Area Museum

Anne Chesser (1910–1986) and Alice Wright (1904–1982) together climbed this peak near Berg Lake in 1939 and named it after themselves. As they found no evidence of previous climbers they built a stone cairn at the summit, and claimed first ascent.

Anne Christine Chesser (MacLean) was born in Nova Scotia, and joined her sister Sophia Hargreaves at the Mount Robson Ranch in 1913. That same year she married Charles Alfred Chesser (1905–1975), a worker at the ranch. Anne and Chuck became partners with ranch owners Roy and Sophia Hargreaves. Chuck later worked for the Canadian National Railway, eventually becoming roadmaster at Smithers. In 1969 he retired and the Chessers moved back to Valemount.

Alice Wright was born in New York, and earned a degree in marine biology at Barnard College and Cornell University. In 1936, while vacationing in the Rockies with her mother, she stayed at Mount Robson Ranch. When ranch owner Roy Hargreaves retired in 1959, Wright purchased the ranch. To the international fraternity of mountain climbers, Wright was known as “the mother confessor of Mount Robson.”

Origin/significance not known. Possibly refers to surveyor Hugh Drummond Allan [1887–1917], who worked in the Canoe River area in 1913.