If you ask most people they'll tell you that the mountains begin just before Canmore, AB. While that's technically true, once you've crossed BC a few times you realize those are really just big foothills ;-)
Once you pass Lake Louise, AB, you really start to get into the true isolation of the Rockies. The road narrows & there is far less traffic than there is throughout most of the Bow River Valley. Just past the border of BC is the Spiral Tunnel on the CPR line. It's a huge tunnel they literally drilled through a mountain. In my opinion, this is where the isolation of the Rockies truly begin & where the best scenery starts. As you pass this you head down a very large hill into the Kicking Horse River pass. At the bottom of the hill there is a stretch of about 10 kms of highway that follow the river. To the left is Field BC, a small town of 250 people & one that has absolutely no cell service. This continues on all 3 carriers for about another 40 kms. If you like music while driving, bring an iPod because there is absolutely nothing on the radio except distance AM stations.
As you pass press toward Golden, BC, the area continues to be isolated. There is a short break as the road opens up to 4 lanes, but then it narrows down to 2 lanes in what's best described as that "road in the mountains James Bond drove on". You enter it by going over a very large bridge that apparently took years to carve through the rocks. It's also incredibly steep & it makes for one VERY interesting drive in winter (if you can't drive in snow, do NOT go here lol).
Once you pass this area, the road snakes itself along the side of the mountain. And I literally mean snakes. One shoulder is a large rock face, sometimes covered with fencing so rocks will not fall on the car. The other shoulder is the edge of a 1000 meter embankment. The speed limit is 30kmph & rightfully so. I have driven through this area in heavy fog and some seriously heavy snow all the while thinking that if you skidded off the road, it's a long long way down. It's around this point that your cell phone comes alive as does your radio. Some local AM station is available, but rarely seems to have a live body in the studio. Oddly, you can pick up CBC Radio 2 in the area...yet there is no local transmitter. I'm not sure where it comes from, but looking on a CBC map I could not figure out where. I've many fond memories of coming back to Calgary listening to Strombo's Show on CBC R2 on Sunday night.
At the end of this snaky road, you find the small mountain town of Golden, BC. It's situated in a valley between the Kootenay and Rocky Mountains. Driving into town, there is a long line of truck stops, restaurants & hotels (for some good prices) if you need to eat, pee or sleep. It's quite busy in summer, but in winter there are few people around & many of the places are closed.
One other thing Golden acts as is a place for refuge during avalanches. The highway near Field BC is often closed as is the road from Golden to Revelstoke. In 2010, the road into Golden was closed nearly 5 straight days & folks in Field apparently couldn't get in or out.
On to Rogers Pass.
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