Columbia Icefield, Alberta (28 degrees, cold, snow, blue skies)
"Live for the moments which take your breath away"
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| Columbia Icefield |
The drive from Jasper to the Columbia Icefield is a WOW experience. We decided to boondock at the campground right at the icefield visitor center and spend a couple of days checking out this amazing place. It's the best $15 we have ever spent for a campsite. There is a kiosk on the far side of the parking lot where you register and then you just pick marked site in the parking lot.
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| Campground. |
We arrived in the morning to snag a good spot. We wanted to wake up in the morning looking at the icefield. Our tank was full of water since there is none available there. After finding a great spot we walked over the the Visitor Center to find out where to check in for our tours.
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| Looking down from the Visitor Center to the icefield |
We had signed up in advance for the Columbia Glacier Icefield Tour and Skywalk. The Visitor Center is a busy place with a movie theater, hotel, and two restaurants. We were very excited and our icefield tour would take us right onto the Athabasca Glacier.
After checking in we rode out by a motorcoach to an area where the massive Ice Explorers were located. This behemoth of a bus with huge tires took us down a 38 percent grade road out to the glacier. Our driver was very funny, competent and gave us lots of facts about the glacier and our Ice Explorer. We had a lot of fun after walking on a ice which was as thick as the Eiffel Tower is tall. We even gathered some ice in our water bottles to make glacier martinis with our friends at a later date. It was very cold and windy but lots of fun. We spent about 45 minutes on the glacier.
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| Our Ice Explorers...check out the huge tires |
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| Ice Explorer on the 38 percent grade |
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| Skywalk built into the cliff |
Afterwards we were taken by another bus out to the Skywalk. This beautifully constructed walkway is built along the cliff of a mountain. It's a marvel in construction built of rock, metal, and glass We were given headsets to listen to the history of the area, glaciers and how the walkway was constructed. Towards the end of the walkway the floor becomes glass. It was unnerving and exciting all at the same time. I had to cling to the rail for awhile until I adjusted. We were almost 1000 feet above the ground.
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| View of icefields in the distance |
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| Glass floor looking down 1000 feet below |
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| Visitors standing on the glass skywalk viewing the glacier in the distance |
Taking both tours was a great idea. Thanks so much Becky for suggesting this excursion. It was incredible!
TIP: Be sure to sign up well in advance for these tours. There are a lot of tour companies which bring in tourists from surrounding areas
Best of all this was our view when we woke up in the morning. Priceless!
Campground Review: 5 stars, basically you are parking on a large asphalt parking lot. There are no hookups, no WiFi, no cell phone signal (there is free WiFi in the Visitor Center), no water or dump, it's difficult to find a flat spot for a big rig so arrive early. So, why the 5 star you ask??? It's the view!
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