Parks Canada is looking to preserve and restore a historic mountaineering hut on the B.C./Alberta border after it was torn down three years ago.
Abbot Pass Hut was built in 1922 on the partition of Yoho National Park in B.C. and Banff National Park in Alberta.
The building stood in the mountain pass, offering refuge to travellers for 100 years, until heavy erosion made the structure unsafe.
“Unfortunately, it had to be taken down a few years ago, back in 2022, for public safety reasons as the ground under it was giving way,” said François Masse, Superintendent of Parks Canada’s Lake Louise Yoho Kootenay Field Unit.
“Although that is very unfortunate, we wanted to make sure its history was not forgotten.”
Masse says the site is a testament to Canadian outdoorsmanship history.
“This is very tied to the birth of mountaineering in Canada. That site sits high above Lake Louise on the continental divide,” said Masse.
“The Abbot Hut was built with rock carved out of the mountain by the guides who were taking people up and down the mountain.”
Masse said the hut became a beloved location for mountaineers both locally and across the country.
“When we had to take down the hut, it was definitely a very sad moment for all the groups who used it and came to know the hut as more than just a refuge in very inhospitable conditions,” said Masse.
“It gained a sort of social and cultural significance as a place of connection for the mountaineering community. It was also a place as a rite of passage and significant life experiences for people who visited that place.”
Parks Canada officials met with local stakeholders and conducted public consultations to determine the site’s future.
“The reasons why it’s a historic site are still valid. The building might be gone, but the site itself continues to be used to tell people something about its contribution to outdoor recreation in Canada’s National Parks,” said Masse.
“There is still significance to that location with how it emotionally and culturally speaks to the mountaineering community.”
Masse says consultations with experts gave Parks Canada some ideas on ways to make sure the Abbot Pass Refuge Cabin was honoured.
“We are taking on nearly all of their recommendations, so we will be doing some historical archiving, recording oral histories, and sharing the unique 1922 date stone from the cabin in a location that will be easily accessible to many Canadians,” said Masse.
“We’re also looking at using some of the salvaged material from the original hut and turning that over to organizations that want to do legacy interpretive projects to tell the history of the site.”
Other original components of the building may go toward another project.
“We’re working with a group from the Alpine Club of Canada for a replacement hut to be built in the general area. We’re going to be working with them on the potential of using some of the salvaged material from the old building in that project,” said Masse.
Work on many of these various projects has already begun, but the building reconstruction is still in its infancy.
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