Angel Glacier Falls

Angel Glacier

October 13, 2013

What was a last minute unplanned trip in the morning; ended up being something special.  The morning before we would gorge ourselves on a Thanksgiving buffet in Jasper, me and a friend did a short hike towards Angel & Edith Cavell Glaciers.  The drive in to this glacier spot was wonderful, and seemed like something out of a BBC +Top Gear  broadcast.  The roads were as smooth as a baby's bottom with no crack or bumps (Yes this is still Canada, I didn't believe it either) and the road had hairpin turns as it had switchbacks to climb up alongside Mt. Edith Cavell.

Cavell Glacier

The hike from the parking lot to the glacier sight seeing area was roughly one kilometer.  That said, on this day I was late in the season as earlier this year a large chunk of the Angel & Cavell Glaciers had given away and caused a large tidal wave down the mountain.  As a result the parking lot still remains damaged; though it is large and still very mush usable.

The small portion of what broke off had caused enough damage to help put the size of the glacier into perspective.  As we stood at the bottom of the glaciers the daunting sheets of ice were unimaginable, despite being right in front of us.  Having a minuscule berg on shore also gave us an appreciation of the dynamics of these great ice sheets.

The Mountain, Mt. Edith Cavell, had apparently multiple names over a few decades.  The story behind the lady it receives its name is described on the trail.  One interesting short story which took place during WW2.  This mountain alone is very large, at 3362M in elevation, it gives another aspect of perspective to the Angel Glacier, and even the Angel Glacier Falls.

The waterfall itself drops a good 40-50 Meters from the tip of the glacier.  It being October I was almost certain that this water would be frozen, however I was in luck as the true winter will hit here in one month's time.

Part of the wonder of glaring down range through my viewfinder at these pair of glaciers, was when it would crack and drop off a berg.  As described above it had done so in one large portion in the early summer.  However that didn't stop me from waitng and listening to the ice sheets crack and watch for small parts to fall off in the distance.  What is known as Berg Watching, now seems like a viable hobby and could be something to look forward to in the winter.