Around the next corner a male elk with a very impressive set of antlers. Shortly after two female deer and three fawns.
This is Pyramid Lake reflecting the mountains behind. No motor traffic allowed on lakes - only canoes and kayaks. Not a ripple until a Loon arrived. This large handsome duck is common
Our first stop - Maligne Gorge. Maligne means "evil" so named by the Jesuits as they pushed north. A huge impediment to crossing the Athebasca river which has calved a deep, deep gorge over thousands of years.
Lovely walking tracks follow the Gorge for miles but smaller loops over a series of bridges make it accessible to everyone.
On to Athebasca Falls which again calves a deep gorge falling away so deeply you can hardly see the river below. And the colour! Silt washing down from the glaciers called Silt flour turns the water all shades of blue, turquoise and milky white. Potholes caused by whirlpools high up on the canyon walls are quite something.
.
Colombia Ice Fields and our first glimpse of the glaciers. The glaciers we can see are outlet glaciers which mean they have fallen off the ice field which is only visible from above. These outlet glaciers move slowly downhill. Tours take you up onto the glaciers.
These huge six wheel drive vehicles cost 1.3 million dollars each and drive the challenging road at 3 miles an hour to reach the glacier.
This is the Athebasca glaciers and the source of the river. There are two others moving down also.
High on the top of mountains you can see the edge of the ice field -it looks like thick icing on a cake!
Our day was sunny so it made for a pleasant half hour walking on the ice which is 200 metres thick where we were. It is relatively clean but not all white. Ash from the fires which burn frequently colour it a streaky grey and pockets of oxygen make parts a brilliant blue. It is slushy in parts but traction is quite good - I kept my feet easily.
Over the years the glaciers has retreated speeding up in recent years. At present winter snow is not sufficient to compensate for summer melt
It was a fantastic experience!
We joined many others happy to fly the Canadian flag. This area for the public is regularly surveyed to ensure it is safe. Licensed guides will also take you onto the glaciers but only these special vehicles take you this high.
There are more than 80 glaciers -, many " hanging " glaciers as the bus continues to Banff on the Ice Field parkway.
There are really not enough superlatives to describe the Rocky Mountains and the glaciers - we have never seen anything like them.
The area only operates during summer - weather is far too extreme to make it viable in winter but is it busy now! The Colombia Icefields are on all tour companies "bucket list".
Dinner in Banff - bustling, expensive, tourist mecca - at a Gin distillery restaurant. Marg had a bison burger! They are farmed!
Another great day!
No comments:
Post a Comment