The Icefields Parkway, British Columbia Climbing glaciers is often reserved for the most adventurous of us, but not in Japer National Park. Here you can actually drive up the remnants of the last ice age – the Athabasca Glacier. Well, you cannot drive yourself, but you can hitch a ride with one of the enormous snow coaches they call the Ice Explorers.

To and from the glacier you travel on the large piles of moraine the glacier has left behind. Some parts of the dirt road is a bit steep. This could be the engineer in me speaking, but I found the fairly steep ride up to the glacier in this 55,000 pounds (25000kg) vehicle the most exiting part! The wheels on this thing is 66 inches (1.7m).

Athabasca Glacier Ice Explorer

 

The glacier itself is off course also beautiful, too bad it could be gone within a generation as it is loosing 5 meters of ice every year. If you are planning in visiting the glacier you should check out Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure.

Driving ice explorer

Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park

I had to pose together with the wheel as my husband insisted the wheel was taller then me, which I had to prove him wrong on off course!

Athabasca Glacier Ice Explorer

Snow coach in Jasper National Park

Have you walked on a glacier?

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Signature Inger