Driving the Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway was constructed in the 1960s and took one year to complete, which is some feat when you consider the length of it. Today we were driving one section from Jasper to Lake Louise, which is a distance of just under 250 kms. Those of you who have had the pleasure of this journey do not need me to tell you how spectacular it is in every direction. You seriously do not know where to look. There are many pull offs along the way to stop and admire the majestic scenery, so it is a stop and start trip! Interestingly, you meet the same people at each stop, as you are all doing the same thing. It becomes quite funny. The best way to give you an idea is to post the photos. The weather was cloudy today and not so clear, so please bear in mind that these only give half an indication of the drama and beauty of the scene. In reality the views are mind blowing.
Our lunch time stop was at The Columbia Icefields Centre. Here you are able to get up close and personal with the Athabasca Glacier and it was obviously a chance I could not pass by. Peter was, I think, ambivalent until we arrived and he saw the scale of the ice. I had booked a lunchtime slot, which was quiet and we set off in the Columbia Bus on the five minute drive from the Adventure Centre to the stop where you board the Ice Explorer. This is a huge 6 wheeled ice tractor capable of climbing and descending 30degree slopes and driving on to the ice. We drove slowly down the steep lateral moraine (debris left at the sides by the glacier) and on to the end of the glacier and had the chance to then spend 20 mins on the ice. That was enough, the temperature was a good twenty degrees cooler than up at the Centre, but what an experience.
This glacier originates from the Columbia Ice Sheet, which is the size of the cities of Washington DC and Vancouver together. Six glaciers overflow down mountainsides in the area and are in truth slow moving rivers of ice. They are fascinating. From a distance the glacier looks smooth, but it is far from it close to. Where it tumbles over a ridge the ice is rucked and thrown up in large spikes with deep crevasses splitting the glacier. As it hits smooth ground the ice river fans out, but is still ‘hummocky’ with rivulets of water running off it. When you can see the pure ice it is a clear blue, although the surface is often dirty as it slowly erodes. The ice was formed during the last Ice Age, 18,000 years ago, when the Wisconsin Ice Sheet covered virtually the whole of northern Canada and what we see today are the remnants. The Adventure Centre is some way away overlooking the glaciers built high on the terminal moraine (debris pushed in front of the ice). It shows you how the ice has retreated since 1840 and of course is still doing so. Interestingly, this is the second time that I have heard promulgated that the natural cycles of earths tilting on its axis have a lot to do with the cooling and warming of the atmosphere; tropical periods and Ice Ages, every 100,000 years. Geology can of course substantiate this. Our habits have undoubtedly not helped, but the Canadians feel that human activity is far from the simplistic answer.
We followed this amazing experience, with a visit to the Sky Walk. This is recently built and undoubtedly a technological wonder. A semi circular glass walkway projects out over the Sunwapta Valley and you can look down at your feet through the glass floor to the valley floor some 200feet below. This glass is strong enough to hold the weight of several Ice Explorer tractors and yet looks fragile and elegant. I am not that good with heights, but never felt in the slightest bit nervous. It is a very clever piece of engineering.
So, quite a morning. We left the centre at four o’clock to drive the rest of the way to Lake Louise, arriving at 6.30. This is our luxury stay at The Chateau on the Lake. Gorgeous!
We can look out of the bedroom window to the clear turquoise Lake Louise, named after Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter, Princess Louise. We will enjoy!Read more