Athabasca Glacier - Jasper National Park, Alberta

Columbia Icefields, Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Just past the Banff National Park border on the Icefields Parkway, you cross over into the equally beautiful Jasper National Park. Just a few kilometers further and you will come to the much visited Columbia Icefields and one of its eight glaciers, Athabasca Glacier. This glacier is quite popular as it is the most accessible and visible one. Another reason is that visitors can actually walk on the glacier (after paying a fee of course) by taking a specially designed snowcoach (aka Ice Explorer). The Ice Explorer's top speed is 11 mph on the glacier. During the afternoon, you can usually spot a lot of the Ice Explorers on the glacier. I took this photo on the way back from Jasper to the Calgary Airport. It was early morning, the light was terrific and, if you look closely, there is only one Ice Explorer on the glacier.