Page 30 - 2023 AMA Spring

MISCARTICLE
CANADIAN OPPORTUNITIES
Lee Wyatt
From Banff to Jasper National Park, Lee continues his journey through the picturesque wilderness of Canada’s mountains, lakes and glaciers.
JASPER
Jasper is an alpine town in Alberta and is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park. The route from Banff to Jasper is through the Icefield Parkway, takes about 4 hours and can be described as the most magnificent drive I’ve ever taken, from sprawling mountains to bears and elk, it is a feast for the eyes. Sitting at 1060m above sea level, it is not as high as Banff but is still surrounded by the same beauty, with Mount Edith Cavell in the distance, Alberta’s most prominent peak.
MOUNT EDITH CAVELL
Formerly known as Mount Fitzhug, Mount Edith Cavell (3363m) in the Athabasca River and Astoria River valleys of Jasper National Park was renamed in recognition of the British nurse of that name who was killed during the First World War in retribution for helping allied soldiers escape occupied Belgium. It is easily accessible with the freedom to drive most of the way to the top for the final 2km hike to the summit viewpoint.
From here, you will find Cavell Pond and Angel Glacier in beautiful shades of
30 / ARMY MOUNTAINEER
turquoise colour with hints of aqua in the middle, but mostly frozen during my July visit. Cavell Pond was truly beautiful and was easily one of my favourite places in Jasper National Park. However, the thing I enjoyed most about Jasper was the distant mountain views of the Icefield Parkway and being less crowded than Banff, gave the area a more wild feel.
MALIGNE LAKE
This lake was easily one of the hardest trails I did to get to the viewpoint but it was worth it. With it being a very famous photography site, I wanted to get a different angle relative to all the photos I had seen previously. This led me to take the Opal Hills loop, an 8km circular trail, with 500m of ascent to to reach the highest point at 2100m. Maligne Lake itself sits at 1670m in the valley below.
Maligne is also famous for the small island that sits in the Lake. It is known as Spirit Island and is only accessible by boat, and cannot be walked on due to it being a spiritual place for natives past and present. It is also famed for its azure water which is surrounded by peaks and
has three glaciers visible from the shores (Charlton-Unwin, Maligne and Coronet glaciers).
PYRAMID LAKE
Pyramid Lake is easily accessible from the town of Jasper either by walking (about an hour) or by car (a short 10-minute drive). The lake is at an elevation of 1180m and the trail around the lake is very easy to complete. On the way up you will also pass Patricia Lake and have chances to see wildlife such as elk, deer or grizzly bears. The lake is placed at the bottom of Pyramid Mountain which is embodied with iron pyrite (fool’s gold) and gets its name from the triangular, almost pyramidic, peaks (obviously).
I set off to the lake for a sunset view and found Pyramid Island which gave fantastic views of the surrounding mountains and is said to be a great spot for astrophotogra- phy. Sadly, I didn’t have my gear with me to test this theory. The sunset, however, was beautiful and gave a strong sense of peace whilst I sat on the benches watching Pyramid Mountain’s peaks lit in gold by the disappearing sun.
Part 2