Canada > The beautiful Icefield Parkway

The hotel breakfast room is crowded. It’s chaotic, and the waitresses are running around trying to help everyone on time. We join other travelers at a table. Today we leave Jasper and head for Canmore. This route follows the Icefields Parkway, a stunning drive through the Canadian Rockies. Fortunately, the weather is beautiful, allowing us to fully enjoy the views. At 9 o’clock, the luggage is loaded, and we depart Jasper. The Icefields Parkway is often called the most beautiful highway in the world.

Canada - Snow on the road during the Icefield Parkway drive

The road is a mountain pass with views of towering peaks and glaciers. Since the view from the bus isn’t perfect from every seat, we frequently switch places along the way. The first stop is at Athabasca Falls, where we truly notice how cold it is outside. Along an icy path, we slip and slide toward the frozen waterfall. A little further along the Parkway, we make a photo stop at Kitchener Mountain. From the viewpoint, you can see the glaciers; however, in winter, all the peaks are white, making the glaciers harder to distinguish. Along the way, snow occasionally blows across the road, creating beautiful scenes with the bus in front of us. At the Weeping Wall, we see two tiny dots—ice climbers scaling the frozen waterfall at a considerable height. Around 12:30, we arrive at the parking lot of a restaurant, one of the few open during winter. Inside the cozy, decorated restaurant, we enjoy a full three-course meal. Outside, snow covers the surroundings, with piled-up snow from the access road reaching over three meters high. We stroll around, and Graham takes a group photo with all the cameras—which is quite a few.

Canada - Ice hockey match at the Canmore stadium

Around 3:00, we continue along the Icefields Parkway. At Lake Louise, we visit the hotel, the frozen lake, and the ice sculptures in front of the hotel. Then we drive along the highway past Banff to Canmore. In the evening, we gather in the lodge’s guide room. Using live television footage, Graham explains the rules of ice hockey. He has arranged tickets for us to watch the Canmore Eagles’ home game. At the pizzeria, several large pizzas are ordered, and we each take slices from different pizzas. Then it’s time to head to the stadium. Tonight’s game is part of the Junior A competition, with the Canmore Eagles playing against the Olds Grizzlys. Before the game, one Eagles player is honored for the number of matches he has played. The entire game is an event. Ice hockey is fast-paced and occasionally hard to follow. During the three 20-minute periods, there are raffles for seats and program booklets. The Eagles win 4–1. Of course, there are plenty of fights and body checks against the glass. On the way back to the hotel at 11 p.m., we stop by a supermarket to get breakfast for the next morning. Contrary to what Graham indicated, the store isn’t open 24 hours, but we manage to get in just before closing—a lucky break.