A Taste of Heaven
By Stephen A. Nelson
The Brandon Sun
March 21, 2009
For many visitors to the True North, the Rocky Mountains define Canada. And Jasper National Park, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, is for many Canadians the jewel of the mountain parks. Formed by continental drift and sculpted by glaciers, geologists say it took Nature billions of years to form, cut and polish this jewel. It’s been about 10,000 years since the last great ice age began its retreat, giving Jasper the shape it has today. But when looking at the handiwork, it would be just as easy to believe poets and others who say it took the Creator six days. Such writers have called it “a taste of heaven” and “a winter paradise.”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in a famous anecdote, even suggested that heaven would be a disappointment for those who had been to Jasper. Vast icefields and glaciers are the heart of this paradise — and the melt waters from the glaciers are the lifeblood, pumped through rivers and creeks, turning the lakes into vibrant shades of turquoise, sapphire and emerald.
In addition, the icefields create their own micro-climate, where snow-capped peaks look like layers of icing on a cake overlooking meadows and valleys teeming with wildlife. But global warming is rapidly changing the face of these mountains. As the majestic glaciers shrink and retreat, the mountain parks we know now could be gone in less than a generation.
In this story, the first in a periodic series, former Brandon Sun journalist Stephen A. Nelson highlights some of the wonder and adventure to be experienced in Jasper — while there’s still time.
Walking in a winter wonderland
JASPER NATIONAL PARK — Most people who think of Jasper automatically think of its world-class skiing. And 98 per cent of visitors to Jasper never get more than two
kilometres from the highway. But this is definitely off the beaten track and far from the madding crowds at the ski hill.
We’re down at the bottom of a deep canyon, a place of miracles, where walking on water is possible and where water really comes out of the rock. The steep limestone walls, worn smooth by eons of erosion, tower above us like the ruins of an ancient temple. As we move along, the passage opens into a large room, an almost holy place where the walls form a domed ceiling above us. An opening in the ceiling allows us to look up to the heavens. No wonder
this place is nicknamed The Cathedral.
In the summer and fall, such an experience would be impossible. The raging torrents of the Maligne River roar through the canyon, flooding the Cathedral and turning it into a giant
whirlpool. Steep waterfalls make this part of the canyon inaccessible to all but the most intrepid kayakers.
Warm-weather visitors to Jasper usually start their treks at the famous tea house, located near the top of the canyon. They stick to the well-marked paths, where interpretive signs guide
the way. A network of bridges and fences is designed to keep over-enthusiastic photographers from getting too close to the edge. But in winter, we are off the beaten path, over the fence, and over the edge.
Walking upstream under a pale blue sky, we find that the water in the canyon is frozen over, although — as we’re about to learn — not completely frozen through.
The canyon is constantly being fed by a labyrinth of underground rivers draining from nearby Medicine Lake. In fact, we learn, many geologists think that this canyon was once part of
this subterranean system. But when the glaciers receded at the end of the last great ice age, they peeled back the roof of this cave, exposing it to the sky and to the elements. That’s probably why a foray into the canyon feels more like walking into a vast cave — a spelunking experience for the claustrophobic.
In midsummer, the water gushes into the canyon, churning in whirlpools and rushing over rapids. In winter, the water trickles in and freezes to form an ever-changing and challenging ice path. In places, the ice is rock hard and slick. In other places, huge air pockets can form between the ice and the frigid waters below. If you’re not careful, you can find yourself falling through the ice.
The Ice Planet
Walking on water, even frozen water, can be treacherous. But equipped with cleats and
waterproof winter boots, our guide leads us into a sci-fi world. Hoth, the Ice Planet from Star Wars, perhaps. Maybe Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
Our first venture into this Ice World is a daytime trip with Murray Morgan, owner of the Jasper
Adventure Centre. He’s likely the most experienced guide in the canyon, and more than
an enthusiastic: He is part raconteur, part adventurer, part caretaker of the canyon. If the
Maligne Canyon were an ice rink, you get the feeling he’d be the one driving the Zamboni.
Murray says that those who miss out on the canyon Ice Walk are missing out on one of the
best things about Jasper. The trekkers concur. Even those who have seen the canyon in summer are struck by fantasy-novel waterfalls — crystalized in an instant by a wave of the Ice
Queen’s wand.
We turn a corner to see ice climbers — dressed like futuristic star troopers — scaling a frozen wall of water rising 30 metres or more from the floor of the canyon. Thirty metres is a long way down when you’re suspended from a rope and clinging to an ice axe. Ice climbers come from all over the world to challenge these crystal cascades.
The expert climbers’ favourite fall is the majestic Queen of Maligne that rises up from the canyon floor like a giant column of carved ivory. Nearby is the beginners’ favourite, the much smaller and accessible Angel Icefall. At Niagara Falls, you can walk behind the falls. Here you can walk behind them — and on them.
These natural ice sculptures mark the apex of the tour. We turn back and head out of the
canyon, stopping along the way to take more photos. An Australian journalist remarks that he
has never seen anything like it in all his travel adventures.
Even winter-weary Canadians — who generally find snow and ice to be commonplace and even
annoying — are using words like “amazing” and “breathtaking” to describe this winter trek.
Day and Night, Night and Day
But we have heard that a night time venture into the canyon is a completely different experience. You might say the difference is like night and day. So that evening, we are back in the canyon. This time our guide is Chris Roy from Overland Trekking and Tours. He says that daytime tours and night tours “both have their advantages” but he really enjoys the night tours.
Chris is an enthusiastic and experienced guide, who conveys just the right balance of confidence and caution. In the summertime, he used to give boat tours on Maligne Lake, where the headwaters of the Maligne River form. He tells us that he likes the idea that in winter he can walk on the same water that he sailed on in summertime.
Chris is also an avid ice climber who loves the challenge of scaling his favourite frozen falls. He
lights up when we make it to the highlight of the tour. Our headlamps cast an eerie light down the canyon. The air is still. The sounds of running water echo from behind the frozen waterfalls and from underneath the ice.
At night, the Angel Icefall looks more ghostly than angelic. The Queen of Maligne now looks
more Gothic than majestic. Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or the Twilight novels would love this place.
On our way out, we pause at The Cathedral. With our headlamps turned off, the eerie open-roofed cave feels like less like a sacred space and more like something out of Tim Burton’s Batman.
Still, the view of the sky is awe-inspiring. Far from the city lights, we make out Orion, the Hunter. And Venus, the Evening Star, shines so brightly that some mistake it for a UFO.
For a moment, there’s a kind of holy hush. For some, it’s like being in church. For others, like
looking out through the dome of a natural observatory.
But for one man, it’s more like something from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
“My God,” he says, “it’s full of stars.”
The Maligne (MUH-leen) River gets its name from an early explorer, Belgian priest Father Pierre-Jean De Smet (1801-1873).
After a treacherous crossing of the river, in which he lost both gear and horses, Father De Smet called the river maligne, meaning “wicked”or “evil”. The name stuck, and was later applied not only to the river and canyon, but also to the glacial lake at the river’s headwaters.
Seems an unfortunate name for such a beautiful place.
If you go ...
WHERE
The town of Jasper, in the heart of Jasper National Park, is
360 km (about 3.5 to 4 hours) southwest of Edmonton on the
Yellowhead Highway. Maligne Canyon is just outside the town.
www.jaspercanadianrockies.com/
WHEN TO GO
Ice walks in the canyon generally run from Late November to
April, depending on the weather and ice conditions.
Tours are available morning, afternoon and evening.
Transportation, boots, cleats and headlamp (for the evening
tour) are provided.
Tour companies offer free pick-up service from your
accommodations in Jasper.
Tours cost about $50-$55 for adults, about $25 for children.
WHO TO CONTACT
Overlander Trekking & Tours
Tel: (1) 780-852-0167
www.overlandertrekking.com
Jasper Adventure Centre
Tel: (1) 780-852-5595,
1-(800)-565-7547
www.jasperadventurecentre.com
How to get to Jasper
SunDog Tours runs daily buses to
Jasper, from Edmonton and
Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise
Tel: 780 852-4056
Email: tours@sundogtours.com
Getting Around Town
Mr. Taxi
Tel: 780 931 2931
Photo supplies
and local guide books
Jasper Camera & Gift
Tel: 780 852 3165
Where to Stay
Straight Shooter’s
Mountain Inn
Tel: (1) 780 852 4641
www.bbcanada.com/9131.html
Email: str8shtr@telus.net
Stephen A. Nelson is a former Brandon Sun writer and editor, who still considers Brandon to be his “other home.” After eight years in Asia, he now lives in Jasper, Alberta, where he writes about everything from Taiwanese politics to life in “almost heaven.”
Some of his writing is featured in a new book, World Religions Today, published by Oxford University Press.
Contact: stephena.nelson@gmail.com
