On the Athabasca glacier

 

Nearing our destination - the Athabasca Glacier, you can see lots of snow-covered mountain tops.

 

All tourists stop at the Icefield Interpretive Centre for its restrooms, restaurant, fastfood cafe, snack shop, souvenier shop, exhibition centre, etc.
One of its buses ferried us across the road to a spot near the lake (in centre of photo below).

There, another coach took us along the narrow track (above the lake in pic above) to the left (out of pic and back in) and over the slopes to a spot at the edge of the glacier to board a snow coach which took us out onto the glacier.


Click to enlarge the photo below to see a panoramic view of the Athabasca Glacier.

 

Here we are inside one of the snow coaches.
It has 6-wheel and 8-wheel drive!
Very essential for a good grip on the ice surface.
And to safely get down (and up) a 60-degree slope onto the ice surface.

 

Hold tight !!
We are just about to go over the precipice onto that steep slope! So steep that it can't be seen in the photo.
Click to enlarge photo and see the track over the ice to a spot just before the face of the glacier. There are 3 snow coaches there.

View through the rear window shows that very steep slope.
Looks more like an 80-degree slope!

 

The ice surface is brown with dirt, unlike the white sub-surface portion.

 

All eyes were on that large pile of ice to our right (above) as we were ferried along the ice to the glacier's retreating face.
Everyone was hoping to see that huge pile crack off and crashing down..
No such luck.

 

We are about 300 metres from the face of the retreating glacier.
Actually, that's only the collapsed part (grey coloured) of the face. The true face is further back another few hundred metres (where ice meets sky).

 

A snow coach.

 

Alright, now; what's the big deal; let' check out this big fellow.

 

Yup, just like in the fridge at home, only it's not wet.
Cause it's cold and dry here and not hot and humid like at home.

 

And now let's get closer to the glacier face.

 

The glacier consists of ice compacted by its own weight; and its thickness is between 100 metres to 300 metres.

 

That's how big and tall a snow coach is.
The one with the wheels, lah.

 

Here's me.

Left our footprints on the glacier.  That clear deep one's mine.

 

On our way to Lake Louis.
That Athabasca Glacier experience was wonderful, but sad.
It is dying, and too quickly.
See time-lapse photos on how much it has retreated 1900 - 1990.



Take another look at the Athabasca Glacier.
Just click on the photo below.

And here is a good aerial photo and information.

Click here to see more pics .

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