Abbot Pass Hut

A stone hut built in 1922 on Abbot Pass, between Mount Victoria and Mount Lefroy on the Continental Divide. Swiss guides Edward Feuz Jr. and Rudolph Aemmer constructed it using local stone and materials hauled by packhorse. The hut honoured Philip Stanley Abbot, North America’s first recorded mountaineering fatality in 1896 on Mount Lefroy.

Operated initially by the Canadian Alpine Association and later by Parks Canada and the Alpine Club of Canada, it served climbers for a century and earned National Historic Site status in 1992. It featured sleeping for 24, a wood stove, propane cooking, and an outhouse, with supplies helicoptered in annually.

Demolition: Climate change caused permafrost melt and slope erosion, closing the hut in 2017–2018. A 2021 heat dome worsened cracks, leading Parks Canada to dismantle it in June 2022 for safety. The site retains its historic designation, with ruins commemorating its legacy.