The Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal Columbia Icefield, located in the Canadian Rockies. The glacier currently loses depth at a rate of about 5 metres per year and has receded more than 1.5 km and lost over half of its volume in the past 125 years.
Deep in the Canadian Rockies, between two national parks, lies one of the largest non-polar ice fields in the world – the Columbia Icefield. The Icefield is home to six major glaciers and located in the northwest corner of Banff National Park lies the most imposing one – the Athbasca Glacier, covering an area of roughly 2.5 square miles and standing between 300–980 feet thick.
The Athbasca Glacier holds the distinction of being the most visited glacier in North America. To ensure safe tourism to Athbasca and the surrounding areas, local tour companies such as Columbia Icefield Adventure transport visitors on specialized coach vehicles called Ice Explorers, which provide all-terrain mobility and the ability to safely drive onto the glacier to provide an up-close experience to the majestic sights.
The Ice Explorer coaches are workhorses, transporting thousands of passengers daily during the glacier’s open season from mid-April to mid-October, running up to 16 hours a day.
