Maligne Lake Boathouse at Dusk

Photo Copyright: Stephen A. Nelson

Athabasca Glacier and Sunwapta Lake at Dusk Columbia Icefield, Jasper

Photo by Stephen A. Nelson

There's no such thing as man-made global warming.

And if you believe that, I've got a vanishing glacier to sell you. 

This is the most-visited glacier in North America. But maybe not for long.

It's already receded several hundred metres in the last 25 years - and the recession is accelerating. 

Geologists predict that within 100 years, the Athabasca glacier will become an alpine meadow. 

See my story on visiting the Icefields Parkway:
http://brandonsunnews.blogspot.com/2009/10/highway-to-heaven-travelling-canadian.html 

See David Suzuki's Geological Journey program on the Columbia Icefield which comprises the Athabasca glacier and others.

http://www.cbc.ca/geologic/field_guide/rck_athabasca.html?dataPath=/photogallery/documentaries/gallery_654/xml/gallery_654.xml&detectflash=false&detectflash=false

Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, a Different Point of View

China Plate Blue

Photo by Stephen A. Nelson

An accidental crop of Maligne Lake Boathouse at dusk.

Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, the Lawren Harris Group of Seven Way?

When Evening Falls

Photo By Stephen A. Nelson

A view of Maligne Lake, in Jasper National Park, at dusk. 

No special effects, FX, PhotoShop or CGI here.

Except for the boathouse, I imagine this is how Lawren Harris might have seen it when he came here.

I took this photo while leading a Japanese television crew on a tour of the Maligne Valley.

We followed up with dinner at the Kimchi House in Jasper - best Korean food this side of Seoul.

This Is Paradise: Magnificent Maligne Lake and Wonderful Whistlers' Peak in Jasper

Story and Photo By Stephen A. Nelson

The Canadian Press

"If I have only one day in Jasper, what's the one thing I MUST do?"

As a resident, my answer is usually the same: "It depends what you want to do. It depends what you're interested in."

Some prefer placid lakes and picture-perfect postcard scenery. Others prefer high adventure on the mountaintop.

If you were my guest in Jasper, I hope you would stay more than one day. Six days of (re)creation would be suitable for a place many believe to be Paradise.

But if you have only a short time in Jasper, here's what I would show you.

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/rss/article/1211696

Born To Be Wild: Riding in the Rockies' Road Less Travelled with Jasper Motorcycle Tours

By Stephen A. Nelson / The Canadian Press

JASPER — Any real rebel knows that it takes more than an odd haircut and a leather jacket to become a rebel. And it certainly takes more than going down to your local video store and renting Easy Rider.
To be a real rebel, you have to get off the beaten track and take the road less travelled.
And there’s no better place to do that than in Jasper, Canada’s “other” Rocky Mountain park.

Rebel without a cycle? Jasper company helps visitors ride the road less travelled: Waterloo Record

Discover Alberta on a Harley: Telegraph Journal - CanadaEast.com

Rebel without a cycle? Jasper company helps visitors ride the road less travelled: Guelph Mercury

Roche Bonhomme: The Old Man of Jasper

Look Through Your Window...

The Stone Guardian of Jasper, as seen from my room with a view.

Almost Heaven: Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Discovered by explorer Mary Schäffer, celebrated by Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris, explored by local guide Curly Phillips, and made famous by local photographer Harry Rowed, Maligne Lake has been called the most beautiful place in the Canadian Rockies.

It is stunningly beautiful. But the whole area would be better off if there weren't so many people -- or at least if we were committed to minimising the impact we are having on the environment and the endangered wildlife... and I don't mean American tourists.

Ice Age 2 - The Big Melt: Touring the Columbia Icefield

Sno-Coach Tours and Icefield Explorers
on the Athabasca Glacier

Looking like a Volkswagen on a bulldozer track, this is one of the original Bombardier snowmobiles used for tours of the Athabasca Glacier (Columbia Icefield) in the 1960s and 1970s.

Note that the front skis have been replaced by two wheels, since the Bombardier is no longer used for touring the glacier - only for display.

These vintage "lunar rovers" have been replaced by modern "Icefield Explorers" or "Sno-Coaches" that let you visit the glacier in comfort.

full story:
http://brandonsunnews.blogspot.com/2009/10/highway-to-heaven-travelling-canadian.html

more stories:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-A-Nelson-Writer-Editor-and-More/374226352256

Coming Soon: Touring the Icefields Parkway Athabasca Falls - Let Justice Flow Like Water

Flowing from the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield all the way to the Arctic Ocean, the Athabasca River is the largest river system in Jasper National Park. As such, it is a living textbook of Canada's natural and human history.

Surely the highlight of any tour of the Jasper and the Icefields Parkway has to be a stop at Athabasca Falls, just half an hour south of Jasper's townsite.

The 23-metre Athabasca Falls is not very high by Canadian Rockies standards, but the size of the river makes it one of the most powerful falls to be found in the mountain national parks.
Niagara Falls are bigger, but these are more wild.

Coming Soon: Touring the Icefields Parkway Athabasca Glacier from Old Bridge

An unusual view of the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Icefield. The Athabasca Glacier is the most visited glacier in North America.
But most people won't see it from this perspective. To see this, you have to get out of the car or bus and put your hiking shoes on. And that's a lot easier if you've stayed at the Glacier View Inn or a nearby campground.

Across the Great Divide:Train Trip from Jasper to Mount Robson

 By Stephen A. Nelson
The Brandon Sun
May 23, 2009

Railway Journey... Across the Great Divide: Riding the Rails to Robson

All aboard for trip of a lifetime with VIA Rail

It’s been said that the Jasper-Mount Robson region is a taste of heaven — and that travelling through the Canadian Rockies is like living inside a Group of Seven Painting.

So, like characters from a Narnia story, we are about to be drawn in by the magic of Mount Robson’s striking colours and bold form.

full story: 
http://brandonsunnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/across-great-divide-train-trip-from.html

more stories:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-A-Nelson-Writer-Editor-and-More/374226352256