The route along the Ice fields Parkway must be one of the most attractive in the world. For over 100 km the views of the snowy mountains with glimpses of eight glaciers of the Columbian Icefield are spectacular. We drove through bright sunshine and showers of snow and walked along through snowy woods to see blue lakes and further north the mighty waterfalls as the River Athabasca flowed north.
The Athabasca Glacier seen on the left apparently just over 100 years ago reached the road but has lost half of its volume and receded more than 1.5 km since then. Since 1960 glaciers around the world have lost an estimated 800 cubic kilometres of ice which is enough to cover a 2 km wide swath of land stretching across USA between New York and Los Angeles with an ice sheet that is 1 km deep. Evidence appears to indicate that human activities are contributing greatly to global warming and it's a pity that some political leaders refuse to accept the evidence of scientific studies. Perhaps within a few years travellers will no longer enjoy these magnificent vistas on this route.