In winter, people often head to Jasper Provincial Park, Canada's largest provincial park, featuring 4200 square miles of wilderness, to engage in outdoor activities. These frequently include skiing, snowboarding or dogsledding. However, there are quieter, more meditative ways to enjoy oneself in Jasper while appreciating the wildlife, the natural terrain and the stars.
Maligne Canyon, named for its mysterious and haunting environment, is the deepest canyon in the park. Take an evening tour of its winter beauty for an unforgettable experience.
What to Wear on the Ice Walk
The weather, from December to April, when the tours are conducted, is likely to be quite cold. Temperatures can drop to minus 40 and guides will lead the walks in any kind of weather. Dress in layers, including longjohns, scarves, toques and insulated gloves. Wearing mittens is especially important as one's balance can be better maintained if one's hands aren't stuffed in pockets!
The tour company provides warm rubber boots, fitted to size. They also give the walker cleats to strap-on in order to minimize falls on the ice. For the evening walks, the best time to see Maligne Canyon, the tour leader will also offer head-lamps.
What will Happen on the Canyon Tour
The guide will pick the walker up at his hotel around 5:30 pm and transport them to the canyon on a small bus. Tours only operate with a 15 person to guide ratio for increased safety and protection of wildlife. The bus trip to the canyon takes about 15 minutes.
At the start of the walk, there is a short suspension bridge. The trail has manageable dips and inclines. Most people of a decent fitness level should be able to make this 2.5 hour, approximately 3 km walk without a problem. Trails lead by rivers, falls, juniper bushes, cougar tracks and down into the area of Angel Falls.
Angel Falls is a stunning accumulation of ice, but the Queen of Maligne, the next falls the hiker sees, is the most memorable sight. One walks along the icy river towards its shining, cold bulk, then behind it, where ice of all textures and thicknesses is visible. There are tiny crevices and hulking stone cliffs. If the moon and stars are out, they can be viewed above the walls where slender pines cling.
After ending in a cove, the walk circles back towards an ice slide and a slender waterfall that flows all winter long, fed by an underground spring. Animals the walker might see include elk, bighorn sheep and mule deer, as well as wolves or cougars. Safety is usually to be had in numbers though, and the guide's patter makes this walk informative, as well as mystical. The whole walk ends by 9 pm and the walkers are returned to their hotels, ready for the hot tub!
In 2009, trips cost 50$ plus taxes.
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