Icefields Parkway and the Athabasca Glacier

On September 1, 1997 I headed out on CN 93, the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park. Headed north. The day had turned into a BEAUTIFUL day. Stopped at viewpoints including Hector Lake, Crowfoot Glacier, Bow Lake, Bow Summit and Peyto Lake and Glacier. A Japanese lady grabbed me and pulled me into a picture being taken of her with Peyto Lake in the back ground. I was a foot and a half taller than she <grin>. The odd color of some lakes is the true color - a result of glacial silt.

Connecting two Canadian national parks and linking Lake Louise in the south with Jasper in the north, the Icefields Parkway is one of the top 10 scenic drives in the world. The 230-km journey through the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains offers the opportunity to travel through protected wildlife habitats and to witness nature at work. The area, almost as if frozen in time, allows a glimpse of a place where early European fur traders, explorers, railroaders and mountaineers used to roam.

Beautiful mountains and glaciers - around every corner was another glacier. Made camp at the Rampart Creek Campground in Banff National Park south of the Columbia Icefield.

The new day started out cloudy but as I arrived at the Icefields Centre in Jasper National Park the clouds were lifting and the resulting views were outstanding. A shower fell as I arrived at the Center, then cleared and a rainbow appeared.

Hiked up to the snout of the Athabasca Glacier - the one they drive tour buses out on (special vehicles). Watch Movie. Decided not to take the bus ride since I already know about glaciers.

The Columbia Icefield is a surviving remnant of the thick ice mass that once mantled most of Western Canada's mountains. Lying on a wide, elevated plateau, it is the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies. Nearly three-quarters of the park's highest peaks are located close to the icefield; ideally placed to catch much of the moisture that Pacific winds carry across the British Columbia interior. Most of this precipitation falls as snow; up to 7 metres a year!

Since more snow falls in a year than can melt during the short summer season, it accumulates. As time passes, the snow transforms into ice and begins to flow outward through gaps in the mountains surrounding the icefield, creating great tongues of ice called glaciers.

The Athabasca is the most-visited glacier on the North American continent. Its ice is in continuous motion, creeping forward at the rate of several centimeters per day. Spilling from the Columbia Icefield over three giant bedrock steps, the glacier flows down the valley like a frozen, slow-moving river. Because of a warming climate, the Athabasca Glacier has been receding or melting for the last 125 years. Losing half its volume and retreating more than 1.5 kms, the shrinking glacier has left a moonscape of rocky moraines in its wake.

Continued north on the Icefields Parkway stopping at view points. Lots of neat scenery. Stopped at several waterfalls - Athabasca Falls was nice.