The Columbia Icefield
So immense... So powerful.. So fragile.
The Columbia Icefield is among the largest non-polar
accumulations of ice in North America. This huge icefield spawns eight major
glaciers; rivers of ice that grind rock into powder and change landscapes as
they move. Yet these glaciers, and the plants and wildlife that live nearby,
are really very fragile. In these harsh and forbidding surroundings, survival
is a daily struggle - this is truly life at the edge!
Great Scenery, Great Interpretation
Brewster’s amazing SnoCoach Tour onto the surface of the Athabasca
Glacier make it easy for you to experience the incredible beauty of this
astonishing environment. Aboard a unique SnoCoach, and in the company of a
knowledgeable Driver/guide, you’ll journey in safety and comfort to a world
that would otherwise be remote and inaccessible. We’ll not only take you to
this amazing place - we’ll tell you about the glacier’s environment the
wildlife and the human history. Our Driver/guides will fill your imagination
with information and commentary. We will enrich your experience through
outstanding interpretation.
Located on the boundary of Banff and Jasper national parks,
the Columbia Icefield covers nearly 325 square kilometres. The on-going
accumulation of snow continuously feeds
eight major glaciers including the Athabasca, Dome and
Stutfield glaciers, which are all visible from the Icefields Parkway. Melt
water from the Icefield feeds streams and rivers that pour into three different
oceans north to the Arctic, east to the Atlantic and west to the Pacific.
Across the highway from the Icefield Centre lies the Athabasca Glacier, a
tongue of ice six kilometres long and one kilometre wide. Take Brewster’s
unique Ice Age Adventure - a guided tour onto the Athabasca Glacier. You will
travel in a specially designed Brewster SnoCoach to the middle of the glacier,
a 5 kilometre round trip. At the turnaround, below the glacier headwall, you
will have the option of stepping out onto ice formed from snow that fell as
long as 400 years ago. Be careful - the ice surface may be wet and slippery.
The Icefield Centre
Completed in the spring of 1996, the Icefield Centre
combines many functions in a single efficient and environmentally sensitive
structure. Dining, information, shopping, accommodation, an extensive Parks
Canada Interpretive Centre, and of course, the base of operations for
Brewster’s SnoCoach Tours onto the Athabasca Glacier all these services are
available under one roof: The lcefield Centre.
Environmental Stewardship
The Centre is uniquely designed with water management in
mind. The building itself is water and energy-efficient. Waste is minimized
through recycling. Brewster and Parks Canada work together to make the smallest
possible impression on the fragile alpine landscape.
The Centre has wheelchair-friendly ramps, automatic doors
and other features to ensure that everyone feels welcome here. Several of the
SnoCoaches are fitted with wheelchair lifts.
Activities, Accommodation and Dining
There is so much to do in this region, including guided ice
walks, hiking, photography, wildlife watching. For more information about
glaciers and the alpine environment, be sure to visit the Parks Canada Glacier
Gallery interpretive exhibits located on the lower level of the Icefield
Centre. After a day in the magnificent outdoors, we invite you to relax, enjoy
a fine meal, and watch the sun set over the Rockies. The Columbia Icefield
Chalet occupies the top floor of the Centre. A total of 32 guest rooms, ranging
in size and price, offer a cozy retreat plus spectacular views. A rare
combination of isolation and comfort, plus stunning glacier and mountain views.
Stay an hour, stay overnight or even longer. Make the Icefield Centre your home
in the wilderness.
The Icefields Parkway
One of the most scenic highways in the world, the lcefields
Parkway offers ever-changing views of waterfalls, emerald lakes, alpine meadows
and snow-capped peaks. For 230 kilometres from Lake Louise to Jasper the
Parkway winds along the shoulder of the Great Divide and passes by spectacular
mountains of the Canadian Rockies, and crosses two major mountain passes.
Leaving from Banff, travelers follow the Bow, Mistaya and
North Saskatchewan rivers and experience such spectacular sights as Lake
Louise, Bow Lake, Peyto and Crowfoot Glaciers, Mistaya Canyon and the Weeping
Wall. Towards Jasper, the route passes Sunwapta Canyon and Athabasca Falls.
This is a majestic beauty like no other, a wilderness habitat for elk, big horn
sheep, moose, mountain goats, grizzly and black bears.
Jasper to Columbia Icefield: 103 km
Banff to Columbia Icefield: 189 km
http://www.jasperview.com/parkscanada/columbiaicefields.html
http://www.worldweb.com/parkscanada-jasper/on-line_tour/columbia.html