Athabasca Glacier

Today, (Tuesday )blessed with another glorious day, we drove the Icefields Parkway, a 230km road from Lake Louise to Jasper, through Banff National Park. Although due to the wild fires we only drove to the Columbia Icepark at 129km and then returned but it looked totally different on the way back. It is billed as one of the best drives in the world and it didn’t disappoint! It follows the Continental Divide, through soaring Rocky Mountain peaks and vast sweeping valleys. We downloaded another audio guide which explained what we were seeing and where to stop with each view getting more and more amazing.
Our first stop was the Columbia Icefields where we took an Ice Explorer to the Athabasca Glacier. The glacier is approximately 6km long and shrinking 10m each year, loosing half its volume in the last 125 years. We were able to walk on it, it was between 90 and 300m deep under our feet and you could see the old blue ice. As the glacier is melting it is creating a new lake, yet to be named. We were also able to drink the pure water. We both wondered if we were adding to the problem……. but were reassured by the staff that raising awareness was their main aim All in all a fascinating trip.
Our second stop today was at the Icefields Skywalk, 280m above the Bow valley floor, it extends 35m from the cliff edge. Made up of 25 glass panels, the glass weighs 4990kg and actually felt quite sturdy under foot. Again we were blessed with beautiful weather, glorious blue skies, showing The Rocky Mountains off to their very best.

We then returned south stopping at numerous view points and lakes, but the crowning glory was Peyto Lake. A 1/2km climb up to the most amazing view over the now familiar bright blue lake but this time framed by the glorious Rockies Mountains, it really was spectacular. We also walked down to Bow lake. Now in Banff for our final 2 nights in the Rockies, looking forward to exploring tomorrow.