This past week, we journeyed to Fairmont in British Columbia for some golf with Paul and Angie Vanhooren. This is a short trip, about 1-1/2 hours from Canmore via Kootenay National Park. On our return trip, we stopped for lunch at the Storm Mountain Lodge located on the downslope from the continental divide just before Castle Junction, on the Trans Canada Highway.
Storm Mountain Lodge is a quaint, old fashioned Rocky Mountain lodge and a great place to stop for a relaxing pause on any journey through the Canadian Rockies. It was described very eloquently in a 1923 Canadian Pacific Railways pamphlet:
From the verandah you can see Storm (Mountain) of course, and all the burnt-cinder pinnacles, the long slag walls of the Sawback Range with cloud shadows drifting across them – grey, violet, mist-colored, black. Castle Mountain too. And, looking down the road to the southwest, peak after peak, peak after peak, treed or treeless black or snow-crowned – vista after vista. If you aren’t a real alpinist you can never see another view in all the Rockies or Selkirks. It has an austere grandeur that makes it kin to these snowbound miles far above timberline that few people but the Swiss guides ever see.”
Not quite a thousand words and not surprisingly, inadequate to truly describe the area. My first picture is one taken in July of the lodge’s namesake, Storm Mountain. This photograph was taken in the evening from the opposite side of the Bow Valley, just west of Castle Junction.
You’ll have to take my word about the rest of the scenery; this is a post about the Lodge. Following are two photos of the Lodge, one outdoors, the other indoors.
This is a wide angle shot of the main foyer. The atmosphere is just great, but with a fire blazing in the fireplace it seems a little incongruent with the sunny outdoor weather that day. Just imagine it’s winter,it’s snowy outside and you are enjoying a steaming cup of hot chocolate (or mulled wine) in your cosy seat in front of the fireplace.
Storm Mountain Lodge was constructed in 1922 as one of eight Bungalow Camps built by Canadian Pacific Railway to promote tourism in the Rocky Mountains. The completion of a coast-to-coast railway in 1885 significantly contributed to the arrival of visitors and to the popularity of this area. Storm Mountain Bungalow Camp originally consisted of a log lodge with a broad verandah, six log bungalows, a public bathhouse, and bathroom. Six years later another six log bungalows were added. The original lodge and bungalows are still enjoyed by guests today.
The Banff-Windermere Highway officially opened June 1923.The road reaches its pinnacle at Vermillion Pass, elevation 1708 m. (5624 ft.) It is at this location that Storm Mountain Lodge was built to capture the grandeur of the panoramic vistas. Continuing south, the highway enters Kootenay National Park and crosses the Rockies to the Columbia Valley. In the early 1920’s, Canadian Pacific proclaimed this route as the most spectacular motor trip on the continent.
Great shots…we’ve gone past so many times and always wondered what was there. More than we thought I would guess.
I love the picture taken inside the lodge! You captured the warmth beautifully!
I think that this is one of my favourite places.
Looking at the picture you feel like you are standing inside the place
which I have done. HA!
Gorgeous photos Peter, as usual. Was this where you and Rolande took Leigh and I for lunch?
You have done a great job capturing the spirit of this place – inside and out. It is now on our list of “must visit”. Historical notes nice, too.
Like many others we will certainly drop in as we also have driven by many times.