Banff to Jasper

Day 30 Friday 15 October – Banff to Jasper

A really early start today, up at 6, bags packed, quick breakfast at the Castle Pantry, pick up the bags and check out. It is cold outside and there's been some snow/rain overnight. The Brewster bus ferries us into their depot at '100 Gopher St' where we are transferred to bus 252 for today's journey to Jasper.

Al is the driver and wastes no time to give me a hard time. He has a wicket sense of humour and has a wide knowledge of the world at large and these National Parks in particular. By 8:30 we are on the road and heading North. The outside temperature is about 2 °C and the sky looks threatening. There are signs of recent snow on both sides of the road. By 9:30 we were at Lake Louise where it started to snow and actually stay on our clothes. A 20 minute stop and we head off again turning off the Trans-Canada Highway onto the Icefields Parkway. There is evidence of recent snow all around us.

We pull in for short stop at Bow Lake where we walk out on almost virgin snow. There are four bus loads of other people there already but there are still places where our footprints are the first. Jenny is very excited.

Back on the bus and within 15 minutes we are driving through a significant snow storm. Visibility is reduced and there is snow all over the road. It is seriously cold out there with a serious wind and white flakes building up on the windows. Within half an hour we are back under clear skies and sun shining on the snow-clad mountains. We cross Sunwapta Pass at 2030 m and arrive at the Columbia Icefield. Al explains that an icefield is a common area of ice which gives birth to a number of glaciers. We are to travel out onto the Athabasca Glacier. We have an hour to grab a meal, visit the wash-room and spend time in the Information Center hosted by Parks Canada.

At the appointed time we assemble at the departure lounge for the 10 minute shuttle to the transfer station on the edge of the glacier. The glacier has been closed on two occasions during the morning and there's some congestion with the backlog. Without too much delay we're off in another coach to the transfer station where we climb aboard the Ice Explorer. This is a custom built monster bus with 50” tires that are 48” wide and designed to work in Canada's North.

The explorer crawls its way down the edge of the moraine (pile of debris pushed up by the glacier) and onto the glacier proper. We are the fifth vehicle to arrive and it is quite crowded around the area designated as safe. We are permitted 20 minutes but Jen and I were back aboard after 15. We were standing on 100 m thick ice and a fair breeze descending down the glacier bringing the temperature down to -5 °C.
Back to the transfer station and onto the shuttle and into the welcoming warmth of Al's bus. Everyone is urged to be on the lookout for wildlife and seeing a person staring over the edge of the road suggests there may be something to see. Sure enough Al identifies a pair of Mountain Goats. They look like moving lumps of snow but we count it as a definite sighting.

Next stop is the Athabasca Falls which while not of a great hight they were very spectacular. The colour of the water is a milky blue due to the fine glacial material suspended in it. This glacial material has also added an abrasive element to the water causing it to gouge interesting shapes in the bed-rock.

By about 4:30 we arrive in Jasper and Al drops off the other passengers and takes us out to the Jasper Park Lodge. Just on the edge of town we see a number of elk to just round out the day.

We had diner in the Emerald Room to celebrate Jenny's Australian Birthday, her Canadian birthday is tomorrow. The 'Leggo Blocks' are some kind of candy left inside the hard-hat in our room, apologising for the construction work going on at the hotel. How cool is that ??

Banff Springs 8 am

Lodge at Bow Lake

Jenny at Bow Lake

Snow Storm

One of many peaks

Down to the glacier

Ice Explorer

Ice Explorer

Jen & Carrol

Mountain Goats

Athabasca Falls

Athabasca Falls

Al the driver

Elk at Jasper

Construction candy