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always want to say Pompey's Pillar as we have one of those in Montana too but this is Pumpelly's Pillar (an arete). Named for Raphael Pumpelly of Newport, R. I., leader of the Northern Transcontinental Railway Survey party that crossed Pitamakan Pass in 1883. On this trip was Major Logan, who later became the first superintendent of Glacier National Park.
Professor Raphael Pumpelly was one of the earliest white explorers attempting to cross Cut Bank Pass, according to Ralph Beals, a Department of Interior researcher who compiled a park history in 1935. Pumpelly failed in 1882, but succeeded the following year. His efforts were memorialized by a sizable glacier on the southern side of Blackfoot Mountain and the easier-located Pumpelly Pillar formation above Two Medicine Lake.
Pumpelly's name hides in out-of-the-way spots. But his trip triggered a bigger association. The Harvard professor's visit was part of the Northern Transcontinental Survey for the Northern Pacific Railway, cataloging the land's farming and mining potential. His packer and guide was William Logan.
Professor Raphael Pumpelly was one of the earliest white explorers attempting to cross Cut Bank Pass, according to Ralph Beals, a Department of Interior researcher who compiled a park history in 1935. Pumpelly failed in 1882, but succeeded the following year. His efforts were memorialized by a sizable glacier on the southern side of Blackfoot Mountain and the easier-located Pumpelly Pillar formation above Two Medicine Lake.
Pumpelly's name hides in out-of-the-way spots. But his trip triggered a bigger association. The Harvard professor's visit was part of the Northern Transcontinental Survey for the Northern Pacific Railway, cataloging the land's farming and mining potential. His packer and guide was William Logan.