Skywatch Friday: Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier
We recently visited the Columbia Icefield in Canada. It's located at the northern end of Banff National Park and the southern end of Jasper National Park. The Columbia Icefield is the largest icefield in North America's Rocky Mountains. It covers 125 square miles, is up to 1,198 feet in depth and receives about 280 inches of snow per year.
We splurged on a hotel that is about a mile from the Athabasca Glacier. Here's a view from the hotel lobby. We arrived later in that day so didn't have time for exploring (although it stayed light until 10 p.m. or later).
It is possible to park at the Icefield Visitor Center and walk to the base of the glacier. We decided to splurge on a ride to the glacier on an Ice Explorer. Originally, our trip was schedule for the afternoon, but we changed it to the first trip of the next day and it was one of the best decisions ever.
These all terrain vehicles weigh 55,000 lbs. and can carry 56 passengers. They can also go up or down a 36% grade which we experienced.
It was a very slow journey but we eventually made it to the glacier. Someone comes out and grooms the ice every day before the guests arrive. They also stake out the "safe" area that you're supposed to stay in.
We were informed that Parks Canada (similar to the U.S. National Park Service) will come rescue anyone who falls in a crevasse, but only if they haven't gone down more than 50 meters. If it's beyond that you become part of the glacier. Yikes!
They gave us 30 minutes to wander around, slip and fall on the ice, take photos and throw snowballs at each other. It was cold up there so 30 minutes was more than sufficient.
We were the first explorer to arrive, but before long another arrived. They park close to each other because there isn't a huge parking lot up there.
It was really cool being on the glacier. We'd seen many glaciers on our Alaska trips, but had never ventured onto the surface of one.
Of course we had to get a photo by the giant beast. It's 12 ft. high and 42 ft. in length and ll ft. wide. There are only 23 of these vehicles in the world. 21 of them are here at the Columbia Icefield, the other two are in Antarctica--one owned by Australia and the other by the U.S. (thankfully no one booed when the guide mentioned the U.S.).
Telephoto shot of our hotel. It's on the third floor of the visitor center and only has 36 rooms.
Before long it was time to load up and head back down. Of course there was one tourist who was quite late getting back (not Irv) which made the guide a little testy.
As we start back down we can see why they keep such a tight schedule. One after another ice explorer was making its way up. This is why I said the first trip of the day was a great decision. We were up there with only a couple dozen other people so we were able to get some good photos. As the day goes on the place is filled with tourists.
A couple scroungy mountain goats down by the road.
Our trip on the ice explorer included a complimentary trip to the Glacier Skywalk. They loaded us on a bus and took us there.
It's a glass bottomed walkway that protrudes from the cliff. Irv is frightened of heights but I got him to take a couple spins around the bridge. The second time with his eyes open.
It's definitely a tourist trap. It was fun, but definitely not worth the $50 entry fee if you buy it without the ice explorer.
It was a beautiful view from the skywalk though!
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