After crossing the Rockies by Kicking Horse Pass, the Canadian Pacific Railway was supposed to follow the Columbia River loop because the Selkirks were considered an impenetrable barrier. In 1881, however, a determined surveyor, Albert Rogers, followed the Illecillewaet River into these same mountains and discovered the pass named for him. Rogers Pass Centre has displays, models and films that explain the history of the pass and the annual battle against avalanches.