Columbia Icefield: Timeless White Giant

The first light of the day was gently streaming over the mountains. When we cracked open the window of our room, a cool breeze from the mountains lightly touched our faces. As we stuck our heads out and looked up at the sky, we saw that there wasn’t a single cloud in sight. That’s when we knew: our exploration of the Columbia Icefield was going to take place in beautiful weather.

To explore the Columbia Icefield, we were going to join two tours: the first would take us onto the Athabasca Glacier, and the second to the Columbia Icefield Skywalk—a glass platform offering stunning views of the magnificent Sunwapta Valley.

For both activities, we received support from the tour company Pursuit. If you’d like to join these tours as well, be sure to check out the website managed by Pursuit: https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/. On this site, you can find detailed information about both the region and the tours, and you can also purchase tickets for the experiences you’d like to join.

The first stop of the day was the Icefield Information Centre. You could call it the main base for visitors to the area. This complex includes a hotel, gift shop, exhibition hall, a small cinema, a large parking lot, and a café, making it a perfect place to rest, especially with its stunning view of the Athabasca Glacier.

All tours depart from here. We arrived a few hours early, grabbed a coffee, and sat out on the terrace. The air was cool, and the view was mesmerizing. As I looked at the massive sheet of ice stretching out before us, I realized it was the first time in my life I was drinking coffee with a glacier view.

Columbia Icefield Adventure is the name of the tour we purchased from the Pursuit tour company. This tour, which offers two different experiences, lasts about 2.5 to 3 hours. During the tour, you get to step onto the glacier and visit the glass-floored platform called the Skywalk, where you can enjoy breathtaking views. Now, let me tell you a bit about our experience.

As we were finishing our coffee, we realized it was almost time for our tour. We got up from the terrace and walked over to the area where the tour buses were waiting. After a short wait, we boarded the bus. This bus would take us to a station where the specially designed glacier vehicles were waiting. About five minutes after departure, we arrived at the intermediate station, where staff had parked the unique glacier vehicles. All passengers got off the bus here and boarded the next vehicle.

We rode a vehicle called the Ice Explorer. These massive vehicles, specially designed to travel safely on the glacier and the rough road leading to it, have six wheels. The Ice Explorer is quite tall and equipped with special technical features to easily climb and descend steep slopes. It looked almost like it was built for a space mission.

After the driver gave us a brief safety briefing, we set off. The glacier shaped all the scenes we saw, and it moves with the seasons. Later, we learned that because of its terrain, researchers sometimes use this area for Mars research.

During the journey, our view wasn’t just a dry landscape. On the other side of the road, the extension of the Athabasca Glacier accompanied us. All the scenes we saw were shaped by the glacier, which moves with the seasons.

After a short but thrilling ride, the huge wheels of the Ice Explorer climbed onto the glacier. The more I looked out the window, the more impatient I became. I couldn’t wait to set foot on that white wonder. Finally, the vehicle stopped. Our driver told us we had arrived at the spot where we would get off and shared a few important safety tips.

Then we got out. And there it was… I took my first step onto the white heart of our blue planet. Beneath my feet lay a glacier thousands of years old, and before me stretched a vast landscape slowly shaped by time. It was silent, cold, yet incredibly mesmerizing. The sky was clear and sunny, allowing the glacier’s unique deep blue hues to shine in all their beauty.

We stayed in this enchanting white world for about half an hour. Walking on the glacier, hearing the crackling echoes in its crevices, and soaking in the breathtaking views was indescribable. One of the most unforgettable moments was when we filled a water bottle, we brought with us with pure meltwater and drank it. It was ice-cold, yet so clear and delicious, perhaps the cleanest, purest water I have ever tasted in my life.

The Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Icefield located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, is a glacier that flows through the valley. It is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world, stretching about 6 kilometers long and ranging from 90 to 300 meters in thickness.

Due to environmental factors, the glacier has been retreating for many years, and in recent years, the melting has reached serious levels. While some local authorities are taking measures to address this, global climate change remains the main cause of the retreat.

After the unforgettable moments at the Athabasca Glacier, we got back into our vehicle and headed to the second stop of our tour, the Columbia Icefield Skywalk. This is a glass observation deck located about 5 kilometers from the Icefield Information Centre, along a road that passes through the glacier valley.

After a short drive, we got off the bus and started walking toward the glass terrace. Just a few steps in, the depth of the Sunwapta Valley and the enchanting surrounding scenery drew us in. But the most impressive moment was yet to come, when we stepped onto the glass floor.

After only a few minutes of walking, we were on the glass observation deck. Below our feet stretched the valley 280 meters deep, and we felt as if we were walking in the sky. Although it can be challenging for those with a fear of heights, the beauty of the view was worth every moment of fear.

In front of us were massive mountains, glaciers reaching up to their peaks, and slopes that met the sky… From this point, the glacier’s vastness and thickness were even more visible. The Columbia Icefield Skywalk is not just an observation deck; it’s a window opening to one of the most stunning faces of Jasper National Park.

If you’d like to watch the VIDEO of my Athabasca Glacier exploration, click HERE!