Canada 2010: Columbian Ice Field

I didn’t know it at the time, but one of the highlights of our trip for me would be our visit to the Columbian Ice Field. The Columbian Ice Field is located some 115 km SW of Jasper on the Ice Fields Parkway:

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The Ice Fields Parkway (Highway 93) is one of the most scenic drives around. Here are some of the photos that we took through the car windows on the way:

The ice field is actually contained in two of Canada’s most famous national parks:

We finally arrive at the visitor centre for the ice field:

Here is the view of the Athabasca glacier (one of the five glaciers fed by the Columbian ice field) from the visitor centre:

After our car trip we have a brief peruse of the visitor centre and its facilities:

Our main objective is to walk on Athabasca glacier. So, we sign up for the tour.

We are patiently waiting for the bus, drink in hand:

Let’s pretend like we are at an airport and call a parking bay a gate.

Here is our tour guide for the bus part of the trip:

A look at the dirt road up the side of the glacier:

Here you can see some of the runoff starting the Athabasca River.

We run across a group of mountain goats.

The driver said that they used this melt stream to wash off the wheels to minimize pollution brought to the glacier area. I am not too sure how effective it was.

Well, the bus part of the journey was over, it was time to switch to the safer large tired snow vehicles:

Linda and Doretha have a minor collision getting on the snow bus, but they seem to be more or less OK.

Here is the path up.

You can see from this picture how the combustion by products collect on the snow and ice.

We meet another snow bus on the way up:

The views to the side of the glacier are rather spectacular:

Well, we have arrived. So, we get off the bus.

Here is a video panorama:

Pylons mark regions on the glacier where it is unsafe to go. There are deep crevices on the glacier. Lives have been lost by foolhardy hikers in them.

Here is a close-up look at the ice/snow covering of the glacier:

The melt runoff on top of the glacier is about as pure as one can get.

So, naturally, Doretha and I have a drink. That water was cool (and refreshing).

Here is a view of the head of the glacier from closer up.

Here is a look at the mountains containing the glacier.

This is just to show that we were there:

The Athabasca Glacier is currently in retreat. The ebbing and flowing of the “high water” mark of glacial movement is a natural phenomenon. What is not known is how the rate is being affected by the current increase in global temperatures.

At the last peak, the glacier reached about halfway up the hill between the parkway and the visitor centre. This happened in 1844.

Here is a closer look at the debris of rock left to the side during the glacial movement (moraines).

This lake is used by the staff for water. You may have noticed that it does not have the characteristic gray-green colour of the rock flour embedded glacier runoff .(See photo immediately below.) It is spring fed.

Back at the visitor centre they have a good model of the icefield and the glaciers it feeds. The ice field straddles the continental divide. Consequently, the rivers it rather uniquely feeds three different oceans: