Awesome Scenery – Icefield Parkway and Lake Louise

Tuesday 19th June

Basing ourselves in Field for another day, we drove up the Icefields Parkway to The Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier. The scenery up this 127km road is absolutely awesome! High, sharp black shale mountains capped with snow and ice. Massive cornices that look like they are about to crash down in avalanches. Clear green mountain lakes and rushing rivers and waterfalls that fall from heights shrouded in mist.

Hector Lake - Icefields Parkway

The sun comes out occasionally, but mostly the peaks are cloud covered. At the Athabasca Glacier there is an interpretive centre detailing geological history and geomorphology of the mountains and icefields. There is a big emphasis on climate change and the likelihood that it is human-caused. This appears on many of the interpretive signs. The receding glacier is documented in a series of markers showing where the glacier toe lay at various years. The terminal moraine is resting against the interpretive centre, about a kilometre from its present extent.

Extent of Athabasca Glacier 20 years ago

Athabasca Glacier - climate change message

Athabasca Glacier

Lots of big snowy mountans along the Icefields Parkway

 After lunch we drove back into Lake Louise and did the walks around both the Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. A freezing wind was blowing off the icefield and a few hardy souls were still paddling kayaks and canoes on the lake. The temperature of the water would be a few degrees above freezing!

Chipmunk at Lake Louise

Chateau Lake Louise

Moraine Lake