CAN: Athabasca Glacier

Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal 'toes' of Columbia Icefield, which is the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains. It shares the same name with Athabasca Lake that means 'place where the reeds grow' in the Cree dialect, an aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada.



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Once we were done exploring Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre, we met our guide, Dave, who handed us our Columbia Icefield Adventure tickets that entitle us to visit Athabasca Glacier and Columbia Icefield Skywalk. Each ticket costs C$114.00 (~S$118.40) per adult. There's a 10% discount for advance purchase of at least 48 hours.



My BFF and I boarded the bus just before 12 noon, which would bring us nearer to the glacier.




There's a lavatory inside the bus, though you won't need to use it for the 5-minute ride.
We were dropped off at the parking lot for ice explorers. At the point of writing, there are only 24 ice explorers in the world: two in Antarctica and the rest at Columbia Icefield. Each of them costs C$1.2 million (~S$1.25 million).


The ice explorer can accommodate up to 56 passengers.

The journey to the glacier took approximately 18 minutes.


Along the way, we had to pass through the second steepest road in North America.



The ice explorers have no issues handling a 60% grade slope with their monster truck tires. 



Dirty ice~


The photo below should give you an idea of the steepness of the road, which obviously can't be handled by normal vehicles.


Columbia Icefield was formed during the Great Glaciation from 238,000 to 126,000 BC. The initial advancement of the ice field ended during the Early Wisconsinan period from 73,000 to 62,000 BC, around the time Homo sapiens began to appear on the planet.


How many ice explorers do you see?


Would you like to have a taste of glacial water?
 


Do respect the area boundaries. Travelling further onto the glacier isn't recommended unless properly equipped. Hidden crevasses have led to deaths of unprepared individuals.



Covering an area of 6 square kilometres, the glacier is about 6 km long. Thickness wise, it's been measured to be between 90 to 300 m.


There are about ten major country flags planted at the glacier. Alas, the flag of Singapore isn't there.



Embracing a part of my roots~
Do I look like a Korean? Especially when travelling, a lot of people have been asking whether I'm a Korean since young till date. During that trip alone, I was asked whether I came from Korea by three individuals at separate occasions.


I made one attempt at panorama shot there.


There are eateries on the second floor of the discovery centre.


After 20 minutes of fun, we hopped onto the ice explorer once again to go back to the parking lot, from where we took another bus to go back to the discovery centre.



Due to its relatively easy accessibility, it's no surprise that Athabasca Glacier is the most visited glacier in North America.

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