11/2/12

Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca Glacier as seen from Icefield Parkway

Experiencing glaciers in other parts of the world changed the way I think about the world's climate woes. It hit me right in the face. There's beauty in glaciers for sure and there's a lesson to be learned from them at the same time. Seeing this rapid melting, this continuous retreat was an actual reminder of an increasingly warmer planet we live on.

It was about time my family see this live lesson as well.

Brewster Ice Explorers on the glacier's lateral moraine
Driving on ancient ice - with fans (the world is truly getting warmer!)

So off we go to visit Athabasca Glacier. This is North America's most accessible glacier and just one of the eight spilling out from the immense Columbia Icefields - a 325 square kilometer ice mass on Canada's Jasper National Park and Banff National Park. To get there, we drove for 4 hours from Banff on the Icefields Parkway and checked in at the Columbia Icefield Centre where bus excursions to the glacier start from.

Except for the Ice Walk, all bus tours are operated by Brewster Travel Canada. Adults pay $49.95 while kids are $24.95 - really pretty stiff for a 90-minute escorted excursion into the ice which is only available between April and October. Luckily for us, my sister-in-law had Fil-Canadian friends working in Banff's hotel industry who gave us complimentary tickets. That generosity save us a good deal of money.

Andromeda Glacier hangs precariously above visitors
Me & my family being pummeled by snow and wind

Even though we got there mid-afternoon, the Icefield Centre was still crowded with visitors waiting for their turn to board the bus. We were first driven across the glacier's lateral moraine just next to where the glacier terminated before we transferred into an enormous Brewster Ice Explorer, a 2 million pimped-up bus capable of navigating Athabasca's rugged terrain.

The weather turned snowy. Our driver admitted it was the first snow of the season. Fresh snow was sticking to the ice as our bus slowly trundled on, following other buses already ahead of us. About 15 minutes later, we were mid-way up on a designated area of the glacier where all Ice Explorers parked side by side. After  bombarding us with tidbits of glacier information and safety instructions, the driver allowed us to step outside.

Brewster Ice Explorer: Canada's bus-on-steroids
Ice walkers exploring Athabasca's toe

At only 6 kilometers long, Athabasca is not as long or as large as the other glaciers I've seen. Despite the howling winds, pellet-like snow and reduced visibility, I walked with my parents on the ice, making sure no one slides and falls. They were ecstatic at the thought of walking on ice 1,000 feet deep (but certainly not about falling into crevasses which lurk somewhere). There were marks in place to warn people not to venture further.

Like most glaciers in other parts of the planet, Athabasca is sadly retreating. It has done so in the last 125 years, losing more than 1.5 kilometers in length and more than half its volume of ice. The Earth may indeed be getting warmer but at the rate this wind chill was kicking up while we were there, our 30-minute foray was enough for my parents who made a dash for the Ice Explorer. Meanwhile, our female driver had 2 small fans to help her keep cool.

12 comments:

  1. Retreating glaciers should be a another wake-up call to global warming deniers.

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    1. It's shocking indeed to find naysayers when there's so much evidence pointing to global warming.

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  2. I second bertN's comments. We should wake up now, before it's too late.

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    1. So much can be done but one of the biggest obstacles are the countries with big factories :(

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  3. i have read your previous posts featuring your icy adventures and none of them bored me! there's one i remember you walked on ice and enjoyed scotch on the rocks literally after treakking on ice; was it in chile? then not so long ago, your rapelling on alaska. now this blog post. all your posts with glaciers have not grown on me yet, i still take a deep breath, swallow nothing down my esophagus and sigh in awe. amazing dennis! the COOLest actually! :)

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  4. you got great memory Doc! I do feel very happy whenever I'm in a glacier,probably because I know a lot of them are retreating so nothing will ever stay the same. So to see as much of them as possible while they're there is a blessing. Hopefully, there's more for you to see one day.

    I'm in Tanzania right now by the way.

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    1. I got great memory? Naaaaah. I have selective amnesia! LOL! :)

      Tanzania?! Can't wait for your new blog posts about it. Enjoy!

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  5. oh wow. that's a HUGE bus! HUGE! haha.
    looks really cold from here. it's still a bit warm here in Cebu, and it's almost December!

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    1. it was, almost like an alien bus - if there was one haha!

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  6. oh my, i haven't read your blog for god knows how long and you've changed your layout. i was like "is this the right blog?" LOL

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    1. the change in layout was a much-needed breath of fresh air for me :)

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