Ralph Edwards was the guide who led the first passage through Dolomite Pass in 1899. The party included Rev. C.L. Noyes, Rev. Harry P. Nicholls, Charles Thompson, and George Weed and they went on to complete first ascents of Observation Peak and Mount Balfour during the trip.

"The Trail to the Charmed Lands" was written by Ralph Edwards and published in 1950. It describes the Dolomite Pass/Mount Balfour expedition in some detail and presents a direct insight into life on the trail during the early explorations of the Canadian Rockies in the late nineteenth century. Of the pass, Edwards wrote, "The pass was actually a beautiful, almost level alpine meadow, and to our left lay a lovely blue lake (Lake Katherine) nestled at the base of the steep cliffs which terminated the eastern range."

Lake Katherine and Helen Lake to the west of the pass were named for the daughters of Rev. Nichols.

[Additional Information: Edwards, Ralph. "Trail to the Charmed Land". Victoria: Herbert R. Larson Publishing Ltd., 1950]