The Icefields Parkway leading through the Canadian Rocky Mountains fulfills everything that the name promises. Between high mountains you can find six main glaciers like the Athabasca glacier all belonging to the Columbia Icefield. And while we had a heatwave with 41 degrees Celsius the temperature there dropped to 16 degrees. Due to global warming it has retracted continuously and lost about half of its mass. Along the way to the glacier tongue you can see how far it reached until which year.
You can park your car at the ‘Toe of the Athabasca Glacier Trailhead‘ and hike steadily up a steep hill to reach the glacier tongue. Strong wind, very cold because it chills over the glacier will be your companion. And then you’re seeing the ice and the massive amount of water melting from it and forming the Athabasca river running alongside the Icefields Parkway. The Columbia Icefield is a tourist attraction and they offer walking tours onto the ice, a special bus shuttle bringing you onto the glacier and a skywalk which is located directly next to the road but only accessible by bus. All of that felt absolutely unnecessary to me – just hiking up to the glacier was the best experience.
Athabasca glacier
Columbia Icefield
Alberta
Canada
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