Jasper to Lake Louise

I’m on a bus today and leaving behind the picturesque town of Jasper. Travelling through the Jasper National Park – the largest of the five – we stop for some picture opportunities. The first is the Athabasca Falls, a wonderful very powerful falls which cuts its way through the rock creating potholes full of swirling white water. It is 9:30 in the morning and bloody freezing, there is frost on the ground all around, even though the skies are blue and the sun is shining. My hands are numb and my nose is running from the cold – good job I wore my boots – and I wish I’d put my hat on (reminder to self: sort out warm woolly hat from rucksack) before getting off the bus. The spray from the falls is freezing on the path beside it and forming a sheet of ice. I was pleased I wasn’t the only one caught out by the severity of the temperature. Our bus driver Kyle was great, pointing out various scenic spots and slowing down to a crawl as we passed Tangle Falls for everyone to get pictures. I took loads of pictures on the way most of which I do not know the names of as we were just passing but all of them stunning and no justice to the real thing I’m sure. I won’t bore everyone trying to put loads of pictures on the blog, which would be very easy, but I’ll just send a CD home & everyone who might be interested can fight over it. It should be the most peaceful fight in the history of conflicts!

By 11:00 we reach the Columbia Icefield Centre, in time to depart on our snow coach at 11:15. These snow coaches are quite something. They cost $750,000 each and each tyre costs $5,000 – look at the picture and you’ll see why! There were 23 of them made, 22 operate on the Columbia Icefield and 1 is owned by the US military used for shuttling scientists from the airport (landing strip) to the science station in the Arctic. As we travel along at 18KPH (top speed) in the snow coach and actually hit the glacier one can appreciate just how vast this slab of ice is. Either side of it are piles of broken rocks & stones all in a loose heap – like a slag heap – all put there by the glacier (they are called moraines) as it is constantly moving backwards & forwards. [The last part of the shuttle road out to the snow coaches is unmade for this very reason – the glacier would just rip up the road!]
Anyway I am taking a few pictures on the way out and imagine my horror when the low battery warning showed on my camera (the spares were back in the bus) I actually felt physically sick to think I might miss this opportunity. I swapped the batteries round and the low battery warning went away, phew, but I was careful to conserve whatever life was left in them. [I now have a set in my jacket pocket as well as in the control centre – I’m not getting caught like that again!] I got several photographs of the glacier, including one of “me on ice” thanks to a nice man I asked to take my picture. I drank some glacier water – pure, clean & cold – and sucked an ice cube (well it wasn’t cube shaped it was like a diamond, i.e. it’s refractive qualities were striking when tipped to the sun, and completely clear bordering on the invisible. Mt trusty walking boots have now trodden the red sands of the Simpson Desert and now the white Columbia Icefield, and the bit I was standing on was 300m thick. By the way from the picture one will see “dirty bits” these are bits of rock being spat out by the glacier – not the pollution of man – all quite natural. Apparently it takes 30m of snow to form 0.5m of glacial ice – pressure & compaction you see – so it depends on how much snow fall occurs as to whether the glacier advances or recedes. Needless to say since 1934 the glacier has receded approx. 3Km and is continuing to do so. Any idiots out there still want to dispute global warming is real?
Anyway, having returned to the centre I then went in search of lunch and took a look round the excellent display gallery & exhibition they have in the centre. Being a bit of a geek I wanted to read everything there was on this and so if anyone doesn’t want to know the wonderful & interesting (all opinions expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone) facts I learned can skip the next paragraph.

The Columbia Icefield is the largest body of glacial ice outside of the Arctic and measures 325 square kilometres. To get a perspective on this the exhibition very helpfully expressed this as a party venue. If everyone invited had a square metre to themselves then the ice could accommodate the entire population of North America and still have spaces for any uninvited guests who might turn up! It sits on the Tri-Continental divide and its melt waters feed the Columbia river (apparently the most dammed in the world), Hudson Bay (via the Hudson River), The Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans so hopefully one can appreciate how important this is to natural & human survival – once it’s gone...

[I can also appreciate the woes of my mother when she took my brother & I to the British Museum. I wanted to read everything about everything, Pete just wandered through each room looking at everything and moving on. If one is familiar with the Marvel Comic character of Plastic Man then you’ll get the drift!] (It might have been DC Comics, I can’t remember which now.)

I did discover something else interesting whilst at the Centre. There were advertisements on suspended TVs for all the local attractions & tourist spots, and one of them was for Lake Minnewanka (you are way ahead of me, I’m sure) so this must be where all the 16 drivers from Jasper go! (Cheap, I know, but I could spot all the Brits in the crowd because they were the ones chuckling to themselves.) Departing the centre we headed into the Saskatchewan Valley for more stunning scenery and stopped for a photo shoot at The Weeping Wall. This is so called because in winter the snow falls on the top of the mountain and as the sun melts it off rivulets run down the rock face like tears. These freeze at night and the next morning begin to thaw along with more snow from the peak and so the wall appears to weep. There is one thing I have learned from just this part of my trip; and that is where there are still definite seasons, it must be wonderful to see these sights during all four of them as every one brings a new perspective & view. [Especially when the trees have an annoying habit of getting in the way of photo opportunities! Note: I do not advocate carrying a camera & chainsaw just to get a good picture.]
The next stopping point was Peyto Lake & Glacier (pronounced pee-toe). This is another glacial lake, therefore bloody cold, and stunning in hue. This colour is caused by the rock flour in the water (this is fine flour like particles of rock ground up by the glacier) which absorbs the light from the sun and reflects back the blue/green part of the spectrum. Apparently in winter when the lakes freeze and the rock flour sinks lower down the colour turns a spectacular sapphire blue. (Another useless fact for everyone.) There were loads of paths off into the woods to explore, which proved too much of a lure to me – the smell of pine was gorgeous – and I was the last one back to the bus! Kyle was great about it and obviously knew I wouldn’t do it again as I must have looked as guilty as I felt.
At the next stop – Bow Lake – I had a look round the gift shop (aaah aaah) that was next to the campsite & holiday chalets next to the lake took some photographs and headed back to the bus – buggered if I’d be last this time. Anyway, Kyle’s girlfriend Heather was on the bus for the day and I’d heard her talking to an American couple earlier and said she was from London – England that is not Ontario (there is a London in Ontario for anyone with the geographical expertise of an American) – so I asked her whereabouts, “Harrow-on-the-Hill” she replied, where are you from “Southend-On-Sea” I said, “Oh, my great aunt lives in Southend.” (The Earth has definitely been shrunk in the wash – must have been too hot from global warming. Don’t worry I’ll get my global warming soapbox out big time later – especially from what I have leaned just from this part of my trip. It is real and happening now!)
After that we were chatting about places been, etc. and I said I was heading for Vancouver. “Oh you will love it, it is my favourite place in the world at the moment!” Apparently she lived there for four months & worked in a diner, which she recommended I eat in, and had stayed in the hostel I am booked into. It seems I am heading in the right direction, and following all the recommendations to do so I will take a trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island. While we were chatting most of the passengers had got on the bus, so I was nearly last again – but wasn’t!
Our penultimate stop was at Crowfoot Glacier – from its name can you guess what it looks like?
We then headed onto Route #1 – the Trans-Canada Highway (it does what it says on the signs) and 2Km later turned off it for Lake Louise. On the way up to the lake itself one goes through Lake Louise (Village) – that is how it is signposted, and that is what it is called – which is also what it says on the sign. It has a garage, a post office, a convenience store and some houses – that’s it.
As we round a corner, there it is – The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise – a most impressive structure. After getting off the bus one turns around and sees Mount Victoria with the Victoria Glacier hanging on it, look down and there is the lake! I tear myself away from its hypnotic beauty to get checked in.
Bloody hell I’ve got a suite – yes a proper one with a lounge, bedroom, bathroom and a little hallway between them. Being aching of foot as soon as I saw the spa bath I started running water into it & put the coffee machine on – cup of coffee lying in spa bath coming right up! Spank immediately wanted to swing on the curtains over the king sized bed and I told him to behave or I’d put him back in the bag – he did. I realised this must be a higher class of hotel when along with the Gideon’s book of fantasy & make-believe I found the Teachings of Buddha. Whilst relaxing in the bath my luggage arrived. I had to have a chuckle at the thought of my little green rucksack being stacked along with all the designer bollocks [*] items being loaded onto the luggage carts the bell people were pushing around – I did make sure I had put the Gold Leaf luggage tag on it though!
After my much refreshing bath & coffee I then set about getting a proper look at this lake that everything & everyone raves about. Well, in a nutshell, if it is good it is all true. I could list loads of superlatives like; stupendous, wonderful, idyllic, paradise personified, etc. just to try and impress someone on how I can use a thesaurus but I won’t bother, I will just post a couple of pictures instead. I can safely say that it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life so far. It is stunning, and ne could sit and watch it all day long as the sun rises and travels across the sky shifting all the shadows and perspectives and changing all the colours and hues. I am glad I have a full day here tomorrow because I will definitely wander round the lake. Spank insisted on helping me type up the blog entry – but kept pressing the wrong keys, so I had to tell him off.

As the light began to fade I thought about getting something to eat, so I checked out the restaurants on offer in the hotel – there are eight. I settled for Tom Wilson’s Steakhouse. [Tom Wilson was the first non-native to see Lake Louise, or rather “Lake of the little fishes” as the First Nation Indians called it. He was a horse packer for Canadian Pacific and was camping with the First Nation people when he heard a thunderous noise – an avalanche coming off of what is now called Victoria Glacier. He asked them to guide him to this lake of the little fishes. When he first saw it he wanted to name it Emerald Lake, but politics and arse-kissing got in the way and it was named after Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter Louise Caroline Alberta – who happened to be married to the Governor General of Canada (multiple arses with one kiss!) – it is also where the state of Alberta gets its name from (this Louise must have had a big bottom). Anyway Tom got his wish with Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park – which is called... Emerald Lake. If you want any further information on Tom Wilson please consult Wikipedia.]
The nice man who took my reservation made a lovely little joke (he is Canadian and they do have a sense of humour) about Mr Wilson wanting to dine with Mr Wilson, but I was not quick enough to ask for family discount. (I will have to remember that when I get to the USA because I’m sure I could spin them enough bullshit to get them to believe I am related to some founder or other and get a free meal, car, watch, boat, whatever.) I didn’t really care I just thought I would enjoy this experience for what it is and have a damn good meal. It was! I won’t bore with the full details of it but the starters were superb (eight little dishes of all sorts – no liquorice) and the bison rib eye steak just dissolved in the mouth! When the guy (forgot his name) came past my table he said “Mr. Wilson, does Mr. Wilson please?” I managed to riposte with “Yes indeed. I will tell the family his name is in safe hands.” I didn’t get a family discount but he did have a laugh. I finished with a coffee and waddled off to my suite for a welcome sleep.

[*] – Designer labels. These are a con for people with more money than brain cells. They are no different to anything else except they have some stupid ego pampered idiots name on it and a price tag with the decimal point moved at least three places too far to the right. If you study these things carefully you will see they are made in Taiwan, Thailand, China, Vietnam and Cambodia – where all the “ordinary” stuff comes from – in fact they are made in the same factories. Pakistan and Turkey seem to have been usurped, probably because they can’t train their four year olds quickly enough or they don’t produce enough sweat to properly qualify for commercial slavery. The best thing to do is don’t encourage them. A shirt is not worth £250. (That is a full stop by the way.) There is only one shirt I would pay £250 for and that is blue, grows with your body, is self-cleaning, indestructible, and has Kal-El written on the chest!)
End of rant.