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Covering an area of 325 square kilometres, the Columbia Icefield is the largest collection of ice and snow in the entire Rockies, and the largest glacial area in the northern hemisphere south of the Arctic Circle. It's also the most accessible of some seventeen glacial areas along the Parkway. Meltwater flows from it into the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans, forming a so-called "hydrological apex" - the only other one in the world is in Siberia. This is fed by six major glaciers, three of which - the Athabasca, Dome and Stutfield - are partially visible from the highway. The ugly and extremely busy Icefield Centre (daily: May to early June & Sept to mid-Oct 9am-5pm; early June to Aug 9am-6pm; tel 780/852-6288) provides an eerie viewpoint for the most prominent of these, the Athabasca Glacier, as well as offering the Parks Canada Exhibit Hall and information and slide shows on the glaciers and Canada's most extensive cave system - the Castleguard Caves, which honeycomb the ice but are inaccessible to the public. This is not a place to linger, however, thanks to the legions of people and dozens of tour buses. You can walk up to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier from the parking area at Sunwapta Lake, noting en route the date-markers, which illustrate just how far the glacier has retreated (1.5km in the last 100 years). You can also walk onto the glacier, but shouldn't, as it's riddled with crevasses. Fall in one of these and you probably won't be climbing out. People are killed and injured every year on the glacier: even a slip can rip off great slivers of skin; the effect of sediment frozen into the ice is to turn the glacier surface into a vast and highly abrasive piece of sandpaper. Full-scale expeditions are the preserve of experts but you can join an organized trip . Brewster's special "Snocoaches" run ninety-minute, five-kilometre rides over the glacier with a chance to get out and walk safely on the ice (daily: every 15min: early May to Sept 9am-5pm; Oct 10am-4pm depending on weather; $25.95; book tickets at the Centre or call 762-6767 or 762-6735 in Banff, 522-3544 in Lake Louise, 870/852-3544 in Jasper, toll-free 1-877/ICE RIDE). They're heavily subscribed, so aim to avoid the peak midday rush by taking a tour before 10.30am or after 3pm. More dedicated types can sign up for the Athabasca Glacier ice walks (3hr walks mid-June to early Sept daily at 11.30pm, $31; 5hr walks Thurs & Sun 11.30am; $37), led by licensed guides. Call 780/852-6550, 852-5595 or 1-800/565-6735 for details, or sign up on the spot at the front desk of the Icefields Centre - be sure to bring warm clothes, boots and provisions. The 32-room Columbia Icefields Chalet (tel 852-6550; $100-240) provides excellent but much-sought-after accommodation in the Icefields Centre between May and mid-October (note that lower rates apply in May and October). Brewster bus services between Jasper and Banff stop here: it's possible to take a Banff-bound Brewster bus out of Jasper at lunchtime (arrives at the Icefields at 3pm), see the Icefield, and pick up the evening Jasper-bound bus (leaves Icefield at 6.30pm) later the same day. Two unserviced but very popular campsites lie 2km and 3km south of the Icefield Centre respectively: the tent-only 33-site Columbia Icefield ($10; mid-May to mid-Oct, or until the first snow), and the 46-site Wilcox Creek , which takes tents and RVs ($10; early June to mid-Sept). This latter is also the trailhead for one of the very finest hikes in the national park, never mind the highway: the Wilcox Pass Trail (4km one-way; 335m ascent; allow 2hr round trip), highly recommended by the park centres and just about every trail guide going. The path takes you steeply through thick spruce and alpine fir forest before emerging suddenly onto a ridge that offers vast views over the Parkway and the high peaks of the icefield (including Mount Athabasca). Beyond, the trail enters a beautiful spread of meadows, tarns and creeks, an area many people choose to halt at or wander all day without bothering to reach the pass itself. You could extend the walk to 11km by dropping from the pass to Tangle Creek further along the parkway.
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