Banff & the Athabasca Glacier

[OpenWater]

We were in Calgary last month for my aunt's 80th birthday and took a few days out to go to Banff. We also drove up to see the - rapidly retreating - Athabasca Glacier. Here are some photos - all summer vacationish - that you may enjoy. (Most taken with my Pentax K5 and 16-45mm zoom. Critters taken with a 70mm fixed lens.)

Mike



More here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22121746@ ... 3345993383

[Julio1fer]

I visited Calgary in 1985 and also went briefly to Banff. One of the nicest landscapes I have ever seen. Your series captures well the mood of the place. Thanks for bringing memories.

[Brazile]

Goodness, that's beautiful. Nicely seen.

Robert

[scott]

Beautiful images! Added to the list of places to visit.

[PFMcFarland]

Saw all the pics on Flickr, and they are great, Mike. The immenseness of the place was well illustrated by inclusion of people in some of the frames. You got there at a good time of year, too.

PF

[OpenWater]

Thanks to all of you for your comments. Here is a brief travelogue:

Banff is very beautiful (Moraine Lake, especially), but if you are there I urge you to drive up the Icefields Parkway (93 North). Like PF said, the immensity of the place defies reduction to a sensor or piece of film. There is one area where an entire mountain goes from its peak to the bottom of the valley with no scree, no talus, no plateaus, just a sheer, massive wall of rock. It must have been thousands of feet in length; I've never seen anything like it and couldn't stop looking at it. Perhaps it is a gigantic dome of granite, although most of the mountains are sedimentary in origin. Do I have a photo of it? No. I was trying too hard not to run off the road. Once you get to the Athabasca Glacier (one of several in the Columbia Icefields) you will really understand how a glacier works. The raw valley that the retreating glacier has left is amazing as are the size of the lateral moraines on either side. They are many stories tall. You can even see where the ice pushed stones across the underlying rock carving gouges in it. All in all, it is a truly fascinating place.