Glacier Facials, Big Horn Sheep, and a Tornado Warning
The journey up to Jasper started absurdly early in Banff with a breakfast burger and a shuttle ride alongside a retired couple from London. Once we made it to the Brewster station, I realized almost everyone else was boarding from Lake Louise. Looking around the bus, I was the only non-retired passenger on board, surrounded by older travelers from the West.
Our host was from Britain and our driver was Canadian, and they kept us entertained with history and fun tour stories. Every now and then the whole bus would burst out laughing at a joke I completely missed. I just smiled along and enjoyed the view. Traffic even ground to a halt on the highway at one point so everyone could pull over and watch a herd of big horn sheep along the road.
We stopped first at Peyto Lake, which looks remarkably like a wolf filled with blue-ish turquoise water. After a quick coffee and snack break, we pulled into the Columbia Icefield information center for lunch. The buffet was surprisingly good for a quick stop, with everything from salads and meats to desserts and drinks. But standing there, it was wild to realize that a hundred years ago, the glacier reached right where we were eating lunch. Seeing how significantly they have receded due to climate change puts things in perspective.
Up close, the Athabasca Glacier looks like plain ice, but from a distance, it reflects this vivid blue light. Walking out on it was surprisingly not slippery at all—the ground almost felt sticky underfoot—though the freezing wind made it freezing cold. Naturally, I couldn't resist doing a glacier facial with the icy meltwater. My face was numb, but it was worth it. Our guide mentioned an interesting fact: meltwater from the nearby Snow Dome actually flows into three different oceans—the Arctic, the Pacific, and the Atlantic.
Further down the parkway, Athabasca Falls was just as powerful. Standing near the edge, I could see a rainbow hovering right over the top of the cascade. On a hot summer day, feeling the heavy cool splash hitting my face and body was the best part of the afternoon.
As we finally approached Jasper, the landscape outside the window changed drastically. Miles of forest were filled with charred, burned trees from the massive 2024 wildfires that destroyed a third of the national park and forced many town buildings to be taken down.
The second we rolled into town, everyone's phone simultaneously buzzed with a tornado warning alert. It was my first time ever receiving a warning like that, and even though the sky still looked bright and sunny, it was pretty scary. Due to the fire damage, accommodation in town was extremely limited and hostels were completely unavailable, forcing me into my very first hotel stay of the trip at the expensive Athabasca Hotel. But I survived the evening, hotel room secured, with a pre-booked boat tour waiting for me tomorrow.
