CANADA’S ATHABASCA GLACIER ADVENTURE

Canada’s Athabasca Glacier Adventure is full of fun! It is worth the 2.5 hour drive from Banff to the Columbia Icefields visitor’s centre. If you remember from my previous post “Exploring The Canadian Rockies,” we had purchased the EPIC pass from Brewster, which included the Glacier Adventure tour. I’ll get to that in a moment, as we actually did two tours at the Athabasca Glacier, and yes, it was worth it!

My husband wanted to do something adventurous. He’s been longing to trek on a glacier (not sure why). What Brewster’s Glacier Adventure Tour offered was a safe experience and little physical activity as you are transported to a huge Ice explorer vehicle to a spot where you get off and enjoy about 20-25 minutes on the glacier. The whole experience lasts about an hour. It is a great option for people who cannot do too much physical activity.

Now on to my review of the Glacier Ice Walk tour, which is a bit more extreme (my husband told me it would be a nice short hike, lol). We did the IceWalk Deluxe tour, which is about six hours up the entire length of the lower Athabasca Glacier. This was by far the most thrilling and exciting part of our vacation! Once you reach the glacier, every step from there on is a hazard, and you must pay FULL attention at all times as you can easily fall into the crevasses and holes. Sabina was our tour guide, and I have to say, she was incredible! She kept us all safe; we followed her instructions and guidelines. If you book this tour, make sure to read all the proper guidelines on their website and come layered up, as it is very cold on the glacier.

The video above shows you the IceWalk Deluxe tour first, and towards the end is the Glacier Adventure tour by Brewster.

Canada’s Athabasca Glacier

Facts

The Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal “toes” of the Columbia Icefield, located in the Canadian Rockies. The glacier currently recedes at a rate of about 5 metres (16 ft) per year [1] and has receded more than 1.5 km (0.93 mi) and lost over half of its volume in the past 125 years (Wikipedia Athabasca Glacier).

Canada's Athabasca Glacier Adventure tour

Brewster’s Ice Explorer Vehicle

Like I mentioned, as if going to the glacier wasn’t enough, and my husband LOVES adventure, we did the Glacier Adventure Tour offered by Brewster. This was a different experience that was more laid back and meant for people who cannot spend 5-6 hours hiking the glacier. If you want a less strenuous adventure, or if you have physical limitations, this is your best bet. Make sure to arrive early, at the Columbia Icefield Visitor’s centre gets full of tourists. On Thursday, September 24th, we booked the IceWalks tour. The weather was wonderful. On Saturday, September 26th, we did the Glacier Adventure tour, and it was snowing and very windy. It’s incredible how quickly temperature and weather can change. The best part was that all the pine trees were covered in snow, making our experience special.

2 replies

Monika says:
November 15, 2016 at 6:06 am

Wow, what an amazing blog with lots of pictures! I think you have really enjoyed your tour! Thanks or sharing your experience with us. All the best for next time.
Reply
- Stephanie says:
  December 2, 2016 at 7:16 pm
  
  Thank you so much Monika! The trip was incredible. Lot’s to see in this beautiful world!
  Reply

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