GAINER ENJOYS THE SCENES IN JASPER AND THE ICE FIELD:
Here's Christian at the parking lot at the Ice Field Chalet: he took us to the BIG bus that actually took us up to the glacier.
Here is Matthieu who gave us the historical and geographical facts about the Ice Field...
BRRRRR! It was very high elevation, and later in the day, around 6PM, so it was VERY windy and blustery, just hovering about zero degrees celsius. If we go again, we will probably just make sure we go in the morning when there is full sun. Here is a brochure that you will need Adobe for that can show you more.. You can see that at certain times of the year, if you are a hardy Canadian, you can just wear a fleece and be comfortable.
That's my brother Rob...
"GAAAAAH!! COOOLD!"
My husband David and my brother Rob...
"YEAH, that's BRISK, baby!!"
The Ice Explorers (the transportation that took us up the Glacier): one of the interesting things we were told was that to avoid any contamination of the ice, we went through a stream of meltwater to avoid bringing up foreign pieces of dirt and gravel up onto the ice...
Designed and manufactured by Canadian Foremost Ltd., the Terra Bus provides all-terrain mobility to transport up to 56 passengers, Equipped with large, low pressure Terra tires, the bus can be used to transport personnel in on-road/off-road applications. Extra large side and top windows provide greater all-around visibility.
DIMENSIONS
Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)Length: 42 ft 8 in (13.0 m) Width: 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)
WEIGHT
Tare: 43,000 lbs (19,500 kg) G.V.W.: 55,000 lbs (25,000 kg)
Ah, too bad there's no beer with all this ice around!
Check out this link for information on the ICE FIELD. 
Rob and I got up really early the next morning to go for a hike to the toe of the glacier... It was up a steep incline on loose gravel and a path for the bus. On the way up you can see markers where the toe of the glacier USED TO reach to. In fact it used to be way down by the parking lot of the Ice Chalet. It has been receding steadily for decades and now is about a mile away from the Ice Chalet (or at least the hike seemed that far). There is a section on the path and on the ice that is marked safe: as long as you stay inside the blue cones... The ground and ice have been tested there. There have been very unfortunate people who have fallen into cracks in the ice and died of hypothermia before they could be rescued, including a child. So BE CAREFUL!!
You can see the cones where you can walk up onto the toe of the glacier on the left. Rob climbed all the way to the top of the area, but I could only manage about halfway. It was very slippery! Rob had to help me down, because it seemed a lot harder getting back down to the ground without slipping. The weather in the morning was much nicer!
SUMWAPTA FALLS 
Joline (David's mom) checks out the falls from behind the protective fencing.
Here is Rob (standing) and David (crouching): it looks like they found a way around to get right down near the shore... Crazy men!
ATHABASCA FALLS
Me (Holly)...
Joline and David: it is amazing how the water can cut right through the rock and so deeply carve through the mountains! It was a beautiful sight to see and the thundering echoing sounds of water smashing against the rocks were just as impressive!
We saw some female Mountain Sheep and their young by the road, although at first I thought they were the Mountain Goats. Apparently they were licking up or eating salt deposits in the gravel beside the road. I thought they were goats at first, but you can tell the difference between the mountain goats and the sheep: Mountain Goats have shaggy white coats and sharp black horns, while Bighorn Sheep have brown coats and brown horns. You're more likely to see sheep in Jasper National Park, although there are a few places where goats are sighted regularly. Here are some pictures of more Mountain Sheep.
We saw this male Elk, which were thought was going to run right across the road in front of us, but it stopped just short of the road and turned back and ran into the woods. I was mad because that's all I managed to get a picture of -- it's butt! My camera had a cap on it and I had to manually focus! We also saw lots of female Elk on the way up to the Ice Field: a whole herd of them off the side of the road feeding at dusk. We also saw a Black Bear eating berries from a bush, and I think Joline may still have that in one of her cameras, but she hasn't had a chance to develop it yet, as there is still film left in that camera. There are nicer pictures of Elk here.
Here's Christian at the parking lot at the Ice Field Chalet: he took us to the BIG bus that actually took us up to the glacier.
Here is Matthieu who gave us the historical and geographical facts about the Ice Field...
BRRRRR! It was very high elevation, and later in the day, around 6PM, so it was VERY windy and blustery, just hovering about zero degrees celsius. If we go again, we will probably just make sure we go in the morning when there is full sun. Here is a brochure that you will need Adobe for that can show you more.. You can see that at certain times of the year, if you are a hardy Canadian, you can just wear a fleece and be comfortable.
That's my brother Rob...
"GAAAAAH!! COOOLD!"
My husband David and my brother Rob...
"YEAH, that's BRISK, baby!!"
The Ice Explorers (the transportation that took us up the Glacier): one of the interesting things we were told was that to avoid any contamination of the ice, we went through a stream of meltwater to avoid bringing up foreign pieces of dirt and gravel up onto the ice...Designed and manufactured by Canadian Foremost Ltd., the Terra Bus provides all-terrain mobility to transport up to 56 passengers, Equipped with large, low pressure Terra tires, the bus can be used to transport personnel in on-road/off-road applications. Extra large side and top windows provide greater all-around visibility.
DIMENSIONS
Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)Length: 42 ft 8 in (13.0 m) Width: 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)
WEIGHT
Tare: 43,000 lbs (19,500 kg) G.V.W.: 55,000 lbs (25,000 kg)
POWERTRAIN
Engine: DDA 6V92TA (DDEC), 253 HP (189 kW) @ 2100 RPM Transmission: Clark 34000 Series Powershift Suspension: Leaf spring - frontWalking beam - rear Axles: Rockwell Drive Steer Planetary front; Rockwell Planetary rear Tires: Goodyear Terra Tires 66 x 43.00 x 25 Brakes: Air over hydraulic front drums; air rear drums
COLUMBIA ICEFIELD:
Area: 325 square kilometres (130 square miles), making it the largest body of ice in the Rocky Mountains Highest Point: Mt. Columbia, 3745 m (12,284 ft) Average Elevation: 3000 m (10,000 ft) Greatest Depth (estimated): 365 m (1200 ft) Average Snowfall: 7 m (23 ft) per year Drainage: Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans
I don't think anyone was quite so cold as this young lady, with the sandals on...
Engine: DDA 6V92TA (DDEC), 253 HP (189 kW) @ 2100 RPM Transmission: Clark 34000 Series Powershift Suspension: Leaf spring - frontWalking beam - rear Axles: Rockwell Drive Steer Planetary front; Rockwell Planetary rear Tires: Goodyear Terra Tires 66 x 43.00 x 25 Brakes: Air over hydraulic front drums; air rear drums
COLUMBIA ICEFIELD:Area: 325 square kilometres (130 square miles), making it the largest body of ice in the Rocky Mountains Highest Point: Mt. Columbia, 3745 m (12,284 ft) Average Elevation: 3000 m (10,000 ft) Greatest Depth (estimated): 365 m (1200 ft) Average Snowfall: 7 m (23 ft) per year Drainage: Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans
I don't think anyone was quite so cold as this young lady, with the sandals on... 
Ah, too bad there's no beer with all this ice around!
Check out this link for information on the ICE FIELD. 
Rob and I got up really early the next morning to go for a hike to the toe of the glacier... It was up a steep incline on loose gravel and a path for the bus. On the way up you can see markers where the toe of the glacier USED TO reach to. In fact it used to be way down by the parking lot of the Ice Chalet. It has been receding steadily for decades and now is about a mile away from the Ice Chalet (or at least the hike seemed that far). There is a section on the path and on the ice that is marked safe: as long as you stay inside the blue cones... The ground and ice have been tested there. There have been very unfortunate people who have fallen into cracks in the ice and died of hypothermia before they could be rescued, including a child. So BE CAREFUL!!
You can see the cones where you can walk up onto the toe of the glacier on the left. Rob climbed all the way to the top of the area, but I could only manage about halfway. It was very slippery! Rob had to help me down, because it seemed a lot harder getting back down to the ground without slipping. The weather in the morning was much nicer!SUMWAPTA FALLS 
Joline (David's mom) checks out the falls from behind the protective fencing.
Here is Rob (standing) and David (crouching): it looks like they found a way around to get right down near the shore... Crazy men!
ATHABASCA FALLS
Me (Holly)...
Joline and David: it is amazing how the water can cut right through the rock and so deeply carve through the mountains! It was a beautiful sight to see and the thundering echoing sounds of water smashing against the rocks were just as impressive!
We saw some female Mountain Sheep and their young by the road, although at first I thought they were the Mountain Goats. Apparently they were licking up or eating salt deposits in the gravel beside the road. I thought they were goats at first, but you can tell the difference between the mountain goats and the sheep: Mountain Goats have shaggy white coats and sharp black horns, while Bighorn Sheep have brown coats and brown horns. You're more likely to see sheep in Jasper National Park, although there are a few places where goats are sighted regularly. Here are some pictures of more Mountain Sheep.We saw this male Elk, which were thought was going to run right across the road in front of us, but it stopped just short of the road and turned back and ran into the woods. I was mad because that's all I managed to get a picture of -- it's butt! My camera had a cap on it and I had to manually focus! We also saw lots of female Elk on the way up to the Ice Field: a whole herd of them off the side of the road feeding at dusk. We also saw a Black Bear eating berries from a bush, and I think Joline may still have that in one of her cameras, but she hasn't had a chance to develop it yet, as there is still film left in that camera. There are nicer pictures of Elk here.
