Draped over the continental divide on a high alpine plateau along the Alberta-BC border, is the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies, the Columbia Icefield. Lying partly in the north-western tip of Banff National Park and partly in the southern end of Jasper National Park, the Columbia Icefield is about 325 square kilometres in area, more than 100 metres in depth and receives up to almost 7 metres of snowfall per year.
While one may need a helicopter, ice axes, crampons and even a few years worth of mountaineering experience to get onto a glacier’s surface, to tour the Columbia
Icefield’s all one needs to do is get onto to one of the ice explorer vehicles and get to even experience walking on the surface of a glacier.
Tourist Bus at Columbia Icefields Image Credits – wikimedia.org
There are only 23 of these specially designed ice explorer vehicles in the world, with giant wheels and low-pressure tyres to help them grip on to steep gradients and slippery slopes.
From a distance, the glacier might look like a scenery right out of a winter wonderland movie that boasts nothing other than a serene white background, but as one gets closer to the Icefield one will see how many different shades of white the snow is made up of, from the purest form of white to dirty muddy brown. And if one decides to take a walk on the glacier surface, one will come to realise that the glacier is constantly on the move and new crevasses keep forming anywhere, even though the glacier might look static.
Glacier Skywalk Image Credits – wikimedia.org
Apart from walking on snow, the Columbia Icefield also offers another breath-taking experience that will make you want to never leave, a chance to literary walk in the air! With the help of a very well reinforced glass sheet of course! The Glacier Skywalk is a kilometer long walkway along the edge of a cliff looking out over the Sunwapta Valley, giving you an unforgettable feeling of floating just above the canyon with spectacular views above, ahead and below.
The Columbia Icefield tours usually are operational from April to October and are closed during the winter. One is advised to dress in warm layers, as it can be much colder up at the glacier and the tour lasts for 2.5 to 3 hours in total.
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