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 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1915 (Jobe)
Name officially adopted in 1925
Official in BC – Canada

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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