The 2 hour drive was beautiful with many scenic look outs and views of the glacial valleys and many peaks in the Rocky Mountain Range. We arrived at the glacier and it was easy to see the river of ice gliding down the valley. We decided to take the tour onto the glacier and set off on a shuttle bus to catch a tundra buggy type vehicle that drove us down onto the glacier. It is not until you get onto the glacier that you realize its huge size. I have always heard how treacherous the surface of a glacier is and this was very evident as we got down onto the glacier. There are many crevices and small hills and rivers of melted ice – all invisible under a layer of snow. We were only allowed to walk around in a very small demarcated area where the glacier is thicker than the height of the Eiffel Tower.
We did not stay outside the bus for too long as it was -2degrees C and snowing – HORIZONTALLY! With the low cloud, our visibility was not great and we could not see past the first course of the glacier, but it extends right back to a huge Columbus Ice Field on the summit of these mountains and has 3 glaciers that feed 3 huge North American rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. This Ice Field is really crucial to the fresh water supply of Northern American as well as the agricultural and industrial activities along these rivers.
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