Canada

Lake Louise and Athabasca Glacier | Day 3

We arrived at the most anticipated photos of the trip to the province of Alberta. Long road has been traveled so far and it is still difficult to choose photos that best represent the local beauties. Lake Louise and the Athabasca glacier promised even more spectacular photos (if that’s possible!).

Anyway, we arrived in Lake Louise still on Saturday, already in the late afternoon, but of course, we took the opportunity to know the lake, since curiosity was immense. 

Lake Louise, a village with about 1041 inhabitants, is much smaller than I thought. And Lake Louise is more monhanha than I thought. You have to climb the hill (4km from the village) and there yes, you find this beautiful lake, formed by melting glaciers. It is also reported that the area has a subarctic climate, with an average of 3.3m of snow every year and temperatures that have reached -50ºC in winter (no wind action). Mr. Brrrr…

While we were there, the temperature ranged from about 12ºC to about -2ºC (on Sunday morning). In Lake Louise it can snow on any day of the year, even in summer. Sunday was a day of diversity, we caught fog, flurries, heavy snow and sun and we were on the mountain, on the beach and on a glacier. Hehehe

Lake Louse, New
Featuring: Lake Louise – 7:20pm
Lake Louise, Texas
We’re speechless.

The next day, Sunday and Diego’s birthday, we went to visit Moraine Lake, which is in the vicinity of Lake Louise, only higher up the mountain. To our surprise, the weather there was totally different.

Lake Louise area, Texas
We went up (+/- 10km from Lake Louise) and the weather was closing…
And that in the summer… Early September
Moraine Lake, New
Lake Moraine looked beautiful… too bad the snow and fog didn’t let us see too far…
Moraine Lake looked beautiful, too bad you couldn’t see the whole landscape because of the fog. We decided to go back to Lake Louise.
Hotel Fairmont by the lake… it wasn’t this time we stayed there…
More fog, but no snow…
Birthday girl of the day
Can anyone explain to me the beauty of this place? It’s really surreal.
This one goes to the frame…

Soon after we went to Jasper. 233km stretch with the most photo-deserving points I can remember. Everything was fantastic and could not help stopping several times (each of the following photos is in a different location).

Oh me there inside the temporarily our Dogde Avenger…
Icefields Parkway, New

Halfway there was a rock… Hehe
Oh Raven there again…
Glacier deep down (i don’t know the name of that one).
Indescribable the color of this water…
Mistaya Canyon, Pennsylvania
Mistaya Canyon – +/- 10min walk to the canyon. The back requires good lungs… Hehehe
Uhlalá, uhlalá!
Another panorama of the mountains and the Icefields Parkway

Halfway there is Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glaciers (130km from Lake Louise), just on the edge of Banff National Park and Jasper National Park (yes, where you have to pay admission as well). A company provides tours on the glacier and there we went.

Ui glaciers…
Athabasca Glacier in the background on the left.
To get there only with a guide or on the tour even … it is dangerous to walk outside the indicated area.
Ice waterfall… Millennial… Athabasca glacier is 6km long.
Diego testing the temperature of the little water that flowed and the “crevasses” that are these cracks in the glacier (very dangerous for the unsuspecting). I was 1ºC in that area.
Diego and the snow coaches
This area reserved for visitation of Athabasca is one of the thickest of the entire glacier. 
There, below my feet, there’s 300 m of pure ice.
Another glacier at Columbia Icefields
The driver of this motorized storefront took the picture for us.
Today, the Athabasca glacier has spread about 2 to 3 meters each year. 
It has retreated about a mile in the last 125 years and lost almost half the volume.
Global warming woes.

We arrived at Jasper around 5:30pm. Several other small sights appeared between Columbia Glacier and Jasper, such as Athabasca Falls and Maligne Canyon, we just didn’t have the time or energy to get to know. For those with more time, it’s worth stopping and getting to know.  Jasper is a small micro-town with about 4250 inhabitants and is surrounded by small lakes.   

Totally changing the scenery – beach.. hehe – Lake Pyramid
Patricia Lake – divided sky
Patricia Lake, New

And it was JUST!! that on Sunday. The next day brings the end of Jasper and Edmonton. Wait.