Alex and Bart with their Snowboard instructor, Randy. They were the only ones enrolled in the group class so they had great one-on-two training for group prices. They are getting pretty good.
Bart and Alex were at their last day of snowboarding school. Since the meeting was over, Diane and I did a hike at Johnston Canyon. We only had a couple hours so we only made it to the lower falls which were frozen. It was a good preview of the ice falls we saw later on the trip.
The Icefields Parkway connects the towns of Banff and Jasper. I believe it is the most spectular stretch of road in North America, maybe the world. Amazing mountian views with lots of big glaciers. Here is Bart and Alex with Bow Glacier in the background.
Halfway between Banff and Jasper is the Columbia Icefields. The biggest chunk of ice outside of the polar circle. There are 8 glaciers that drain the ice fields. The easiest one to experience is the Athabasca Glacier which is about four miles long. It is the most accessible glacier in the world. They have tours that go right up on the glacier. You can see the tiny snow coach in this picture.
We took the snow coach tour onto the Glacier. Because it was the start of the season we had the bus to ourselves. It takes you a couple miles up onto the glacier and you get to get out and walk around. I have been wanting to do this tour for 30 years.
It was cold and windy on the Athabasca Glacier. What an awesome experience.
We spent 3 days in Jasper National Park.
Visiting Maligne Canyon in winter is different than visiting in the summer. Normally it is only possible to look down into the canyon like in this picture.
Maligne Canyon is a slot canyon like Antelope canyon we visited on the Grand Canyon Trip last June (see July 2007 Blog). You can compare the pictures and see the similar features. There are two big differences.
Maligne Canyon is limestone, while Antelope Canyon is sandstone. The other difference is that while Antelope canyon is formed by flash floods, Maligne Canyon always has water running in it. However, in the winter the water is frozen and it is possible to hike the canyon with the right equipment.
As you can see the hike was pretty slippery at times. The tour we took provided waterproof boots and cleats that made walking on the ice without killing yourself possible.
In addition to the frozen ice of the Maligne River that runs through the canyon, areas where water runs down the sides of the canyon build up as spectacular ice falls. This ice falls was called Angel falls. That's Alex at the base of the falls.
Is that Nanook of the North? No its Diane!
There's Bart and Alex next to an ice fall they call "The Queen".
Between the ice falls and being able to walk in the canyon it was quite an adventure.
The Maligne Canyon Ice walk was a truly spectacular experience. Definitely better in the winter than in the summer.
In the town of Jasper they have a large totem pole. Diane and the boys made their own version. If you get the chance don't pass on visiting Jasper town and Canadian National Park.
We stopped at Athabasca Falls, about 30 Km south of Jasper. The frozen falls were very cool.
Jasper is thick with Elk.
We saw lots of Mountain Sheep
On our way out we stopped for one last look at Athabasca glacier. No snowbus ride this time. The sky was blue and the snow and ice were blinding. One of my favorite places on the planet. It was my fifth visit!
Here is a closeup of the series of steps the Athabasca glacier takes as it comes down from the Columbia Ice Fields.
The cherry on our Canadian ice and snow adventure was seeing a grizzly bear in Banff as we were heading back to the real world. Apparently it was eating grain that fell from a train.
