Our 8:30 bus pick up from Sundog Tours was led by Harry, a former forester, and 12 of us were headed to Lake Louise in a smallish bus. We were planned to do two prepaid tours on the way and arrive at Fairmont Chateau at 5:30pm.
We followed the Athabasca River which flows into Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean and stopped for a while to walk around the falls and the canyon.
We called in at Sunwapta to pick up our lunchbag and proceeded to the Columbia Ice Field which is the most popular area in the Jasper National Park. The altitude was 1800 meters and there was snow on the vehicles and ice was falling off the roof and gutters.
We watched a 20 minute movie showing the higher parts of the glacier and ate our lunch, then boarded a large Brewster tour bus to go up towards the glacier. Next we transferred onto one of about 6 ICE EXPLORER vehicles, with Thomas, a Frenchman, as our driver.
With six-wheel drive onto huge wheels and a maximum speed of about 15 km/hr it was able to descend and climb a 33% hill and crawl over the ice causing less damage than snowmobiles using tracks. We had 20 minutes to walk around on the ice and we watched a group of Canadian soldiers sitting nearby for an all day exercise which finished at 6pm.
I won't lose Lyn while she wears these gloves.
As we headed back to get on the Explorer it started to snow and when Thomas reached the 33% climb he stalled it and had to climb out in the snow and go underneath to restart it. I do not think he used a crank handle. He told us the glacier is retreating 15 feet each year, just like nearly every glacier in Canada. Back in the tour bus we were covered in snow from the transfer, and our driver, Ness, greeted us with "Merry Christmas" and started singing the song "We wish You a Merry Christmas".
We sat in the National Park Centre watching the snowstorm, wondering whether it was worth going down to the Skywalk for our next tour when we could not see past the railing.
We went down to the shuttle bus in the snow.
and by the time we reached the Skywalk, 10 minutes later, the clouds moved and we had a lovely walk above the valley out onto the cantilevered glass platform. They have one of these at the Grand Canyon, you may know.
and by the time we reached the Skywalk, 10 minutes later, the clouds moved and we had a lovely walk above the valley out onto the cantilevered glass platform. They have one of these at the Grand Canyon, you may know.
Back at the Centre we were ready for a 3pm departure, taking two hours to drive to Lake Louise. Harry advised us that the road through the valley was closed because of a fatal crash at 2pm and the Coroner would need to investigate, so we would be delayed by at least two hours. We watched the movie again and saw the snow come back and start to build up on the roofs.
Eventually the road was opened and we left at 6:30pm. Harry had to drive through rain and snow and got us to the Fairmont Chateau at 8:30 while it was still light. The trip was towards the south all day and we watched the snow collecting on the conifers as we drove. As the sun was about to set the snowy tops in the west lit up with yellow light, then we saw a road leading west to a town called Golden. When we crossed the Saskatchewan River, which flows to the Atlantic, we saw a sign to Rocky Mountain House, where Catherine once lived.
A really magnificent day of sightseeing.
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