Peak experience

Kishore Iyengar

The early morning drive along the super smooth high-altitude Icefields Parkway from Banff toward the dense Rockies was an eye-opener. I had prepared myself for a truly exciting time that day as we cruised along a panoramic route with tall conifers, taller spruce on the higher reaches, and blazing yellow foliage against deep white summit caps. Autumn had changed colours and it was snowing intermittently, rather early for winter to advent on the hills.

Alpine allure

We slowed down along the pretty Waterfowl Lake with a brief onward halt at Bow Lake, reflecting the mirrored stillness of the Rockies, the massive Crowfoot Glacier beyond, the surreal shimmer inviting me closer to the water’s edge. With some hot chocolate to warm my innards, we drove up the steep inclines to our destination — the expansive Columbia Icefield.

Overwhelming sights

Across the horizon were the snow-clouded peaks of the Rockies clasping the mighty, imposing and old Athabasca Glacier, spread out across the endless valley in the Jasper National Park. I boarded a luxury coach that drove up the wet roads, leading to the base of the Columbia Icefield transfer station, from where I hauled myself up on the giant behemoth of a Mercedes bus — Ice Explorer with large tough-terrain wheels. Our jovial Australian driver-guide whipped up the ‘scare’ of the oncoming glacier experience, warning us repeatedly to stick to designated safe areas for walking. The drive was a whopping jaunt at 75 degrees incline as the bus grovelled over icy wet hill and cliff sides, manoeuvring hairpin bends and slippery drops.

The Icefield Explorer halted on the almost 5km-long mammoth Athabasca Glacier, spread out in intimidating welcome between mighty summits that braved snow flares and icy cold winds. The -9 degrees Celsius freezing cold had me wrap my woollen jacket even more tightly, as I strolled across the thick dazzling white blanket.

Chilly challenge

Millions of years had etched, tempered, carved and moulded the physiological and geographic character and environment of this breathtaking locale on the earth. I was awed into total silence as I took in the sheer magnitude of Nature’s incomparable power, sheer, raw and utterly beautiful.

The ruggedness of it all is absolutely overwhelming. Visitors laugh and squeal with wonder and excitement as I walked up the thick and highly slippery icy floor to the row of flags of different nations bordering the walkable limits on the Athabasca Glacier adventure.

As I held the Indian Tricolor with pride, I smiled at the winking sunlight from between clouds. The peaks around bowed in appreciation as winds started cajoling me towards safer patches. I was warned of deep, unseen trenches — deep cavernous cave-like holes in the ground that lay hidden under the layers of snow could swallow the unsuspecting walker down underneath into oblivion!

Lifetime memories

Half-an-hour on the mighty icy glacial expanse is a refreshingly meditative, introspective experience as I realised how humans are mere wafting specs of living entities among the monumental creations of Nature. The monster Ice Explorer took on the sharp inclines past cliffs and rugged icy roads back to the base from where I headed on to another spectacular sojourn some distance away. The raw, naked rock side formations around deep gorges and intense valleys that make up the Sunwapta Valley is the location for a gravity-defying attraction I can never forget.

Heightened ascent

In a semi-circular sweep that extends precariously into the tizzy heights of this locale is a bold, dynamic iron and glass floor Skywalk that dares visitors to walk across the see-through pathway, over the jaw-dropping valley. The suspended cantilever wonder is an engineering marvel that emboldened me to stay on the lookout for a long time. The experience is overwhelming, teasing your instincts into venturing into the safe ‘unknown’, so to speak. The breath-stopping views below the all glass floor, left me wide-eyed and alert.

Satiated by the unforgettable glacial trip, I drove back into the mellowed, twinkling amber glows of Banff, a hearty log side dinner waiting for me. The red wine was from Okanagan as I raised a toast to the magnificence of the Athabasca Glacier.