Amazing Icefields Parkway - September 6th, 2011

The Icefields Pkwy – one of the world's most beautiful roads – from Lake Louise to Jasper, Alberta, Canada. This breathtaking pkwy parallels the Continental Divide for 143 miles! Here is the largest accumulation of ice south of the Arctic Circle, straddling two Canadian Nat’l Parks and two provinces, with meltwaters flowing into three oceans:  Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic. Cool beans!  The Pkwy passes within viewing distance of seven icefields (large upland glaciers) and about 25 smaller but still notable glaciers!  Melt water from the glaciers is a stunning turquoise blue - photo above is unretouched. 

Wonderful sights abound along this pkwy.  Below is an animal overpass, with shrubs and small trees planted atop. This gives wild animals access to the other side without endangering motorists or the animals.  We saw several of these while in Canada.  Not sure if the states have any yet.

There's not an inch on this road that lacks scenery.  I wish there were more places to pull off, but we appreciate each one we can get into (as above).

Not too much traffic, either.

The centerpiece is the massive Columbia Icefield, the largest in the Rocky Mountains. These glaciers and icefields dwell in the mtns of the Continental Divide – the North American backbone – with over 40 named peaks, most well over 9,000’. 

Except for about 50 miles of frost heaves on the roadbed (jars the jaws), the drive is truly a tour de force. This is our second time on the parkway.  Three years ago we drove as far as the Columbia Icefield where we climbed aboard a big red Ice Explorer that took us right onto Athabasca Glacier – a 20 minute foot-freezing experience. This year we stopped at the Icefield Centre to eat our lunch (in the parking lot), before driving on to Jasper (another 60 miles) … a place we’ve not been to before. 

You’d think it would be cold or at least cool this far north AND next to ice for miles. False: We enjoyed 80° temps. Jimmy donned his long-sleeved shirt for the Icefield Centre photo because strong winds were blowing off the glacier, but I was fine in shirt sleeves. Amazing. We are looking forward to being in Jasper. Whistlers is the only C/G now open; all the rest closed yesterday for the season.  Short campground season this far north.

I think we spied some fall color on today’s drive…. Can winter be far away?

Spectacular Columbia Icefield & Athabasca Glacier -- 8/29/08

It’s roughly a 2-hour drive from Banff to the Athabasca Glacier on the Icefields Pkwy – a spectacular experience from beginning to end, even on a windshield-wiper day, as we traveled in and out of clouds and misty rain bands. Blue-hued glaciers and ice fields were visible atop craggy peaks. Imagine, walking on a glacier – an experience of a lifetime ... and the mountains are simply beyond words ....

Here's the stats:  Athabasca Glacier: 2.5 mi² in area, 3.75 mi in length, 270’ to 1000’ in depth. The Ice Explorer, above, is a giant six-wheeled, all-terrain vehicle, which drove us right onto the glacier.  Elevation where we were standing -- 7000 ft. The temp at midday was about 2.7C (or 37F), with a wicked wind blowing off the glacier.  Ice drops pelted our jackets (and camera lens). Thank goodness for Big Blue (my rarely used parka), which kept me toasty-warm, initially. We were given 20 minutes to explore a pre-selected section of the glacier; anywhere else would have been too risky on unstable ice. We were aghast at the ominous, but brilliant blue, crevasse we saw nearby. Twenty minutes was too long for most people, anyway. The driver did not have to call out “All Aboard” -- his frozen passengers were already on board!  Except for the guy in the shorts (above) ... none of the rest of us could believe our eyes. 

Athabasca Glacier is receding at a rate of about 16 feet per year.  It's receded approx one mile in the past 125 years, and it's lost over half its volume.  Not an unfamiliar story for glaciers everywhere.

Cones delineate okay, and off limits.

The Icefield is the largest body of ice in the Rocky Mountains – highest point is 12,284 ft. Melt water drains into the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. The Icefield is immense, covering an area more than five times that of Manhattan. Ice is up to 1200 ft thick - deep enough to bury the Empire State Bldg.

Toasty warm might be a stretch.  We were all freezing!

On the terrace of the Visitor Center, you can see the ribbon (road) each Ice Explorer travels to deposit people onto the glacier (at right, mostly out of sight).  Mountains make their own weather, and we experienced all kinds of weather this day -- sun, clouds, rain, drizzle, ice, snow, and ... did I miss anything?  We were glad to step into the VC and warm up.

Yes!

I know this looks completely out of place, compared to all the other pictures.  I took this pic on our return to Banff, and it was on the opposite side of the road.  This is one of many waterfalls we saw while traveling the Icefields Parkway.  We didn't have enough time to "see it all," darn it.  So, we'll just have to come back.  Double thumbs up today!