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Kris and I joined some friends on the Athabasca Glacier hike in the summer of 2021. We were part of a group with another couple and a guide. It was a spectacular adventure! We were able to capture gorgeous pictures and got quality time with our friends. Kris got to experience rappelling down into a crevasse. He’s braver than I am! It was a different hiking trip than we usually do. We got to walk a variety of terrain, including snow and ice. Having a guide aware of the dangers around us was key. We saw large volumes of water rushing down the glacier throughout our hike. It was shocking to see with our own eyes how incredibly fast the glacier is melting.
Location
The tour is located on the Athabasca Glacier. You’ll meet your guide at Glacier Road, Alberta T0E 1E0 (toe of the Athabasca Glacier trailhead). There is a parking lot at the end of the road.
Company
We booked through Rockaboo Mountain Adventures.
Price
- $175/person
- Half day (four hours) from 10:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M.
- 2 to 8 km will be hiked, depending on how the group feels. There is a 150 metre elevation gain. Ensure your hiking group is fit.
- Group sizes are 10 people maximum.
Ages
- 12 years and older (younger children can accompany their parents on a private tour)
- No experience is required.
Hours of Operation
Rockaboo Company runs tours from June 1 to September 30, 2025.
Gear Provided
- hiking boots
- crampons
- hiking poles
- sunglasses
- repelling equipment to explore crevasses
Table of Contents
Gorgeous Athabasca Glacier Hike
Athabasca Glacier Hike
The glacier sits between two rocky mountains. It extends a lot further back than you might think. Many small rivers are flowing down the snow, as you can see from the picture. It creates a lovely blueish colour. The landscape, with its white and black snow, was urging us to take several pictures.
Crampons
The snow was soft. We were happy to have brought our crampons to grip our feet on the snow that quickly turned to ice, being exposed to the sun. Sunglasses are essential for protecting your eyes. The sun’s rays are extremely reflective off the snow. It would be dangerous and likely to get snow blindness if you went on this excursion without sunglasses.
Tip: Wear sunscreen to avoid getting sunburnt.
Foot of the Glacier
Starting Time for Athabasca Glacier Hike
Beginning the hike at 10:30 A.M. in full daylight was more enjoyable than starting the Mount Batur Sunrise hike at 3:45 A.M. It was nice to walk in the daylight.
Tip: Allow enough time to reach this destination. If you’re staying in Jasper, allow one hour of driving. Plan to leave an hour and a half earlier to give yourself enough time to pack everything up in your backpack, get dressed appropriately for the weather at the toe of the Athabasca Glacier trailhead and take a pee break. There are no bathrooms on the glacier.
View
This is the view from the parking lot. It looks deceivingly close to our destination to get to the Ice Explorers. It took a while to get there, though, as we had to cross a major river at the foot of the glacier. As you can only imagine, with all the water trickling down, there is a significant volume of rushing water at the bottom. We also had to constantly watch our steps to avoid small and large crevasses.
It’s not the prettiest view from the bottom as we see rocks, but over time, that’s what remains after a glacier melts. The rocks land at the bottom. It’s a sad reality, indeed.
Ascending the Glacier
Group Size
We had a group of seven people (our friends, us and another couple we didn’t know, plus our guide). By booking a tour group of up to ten people, if your group doesn’t reach the maximum size, other individuals can join your group. If you prefer an intimate group, booking a private tour is available at an additional cost.
Ice Explorers
The road in the picture allows the Ice Explorers to drive back and forth with tour groups between the Columbia Icefield parking lot and the glacier. The Ice Explorers tour takes thirty minutes of driving each way and stops on the glacier for visitors to disembark and take a look for a few minutes before heading back.
Hiking Upward
Our journey was fairly easy at this point. We were mostly hiking on large sheets of snow. We didn’t need to watch our steps too much at this point.
Athabasca Glacier Hike
The hike was slow and steady as we gradually made our way up. We started seeing rushing water. It’s important to get in shape as it will enhance the enjoyment of this hike. It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you do, but working on your cardio by doing activities such as Zumba, biking or hiking up mountains, will ensure you aren’t huffing and puffing the entire way up. If you include your friends in the workout, as I do, it encourages you to be active with them and also allows you to socialize. It’s time-efficient as well.
Skiing
This would be a hazardous place to do ski mountaineering. Only experienced skiers should attempt this trek in the winter.
Descending into Athabasca Glacier
Our group turned into a repelling team to help lower different members into the crevasse.
The guide stood next to the person rappelling to help them belay while everyone else stood further back.
Kris wanted to go down into the crevasse. I was a bit intimidated after our guide informed us that there was a rushing river underneath. I wasn’t so inclined afterwards to join the repelling group. Of course, you’re attached to a rope, but it wasn’t appealing. We also had to wait for the equipment to be set up and took a break to eat lunch. I got cold quickly waiting around. It wasn’t tempting to be frozen and repel. Kris did enjoy the challenging experience!
Tip #1: Bring extra layers, such as a fleece, to wear while standing on the ice and eating lunch. You’ll cool off quickly. Thick mittens could be helpful too.
Tip#2: Bring a butt pad to sit on to have padding between the snow and your butt to eat lunch.
Tip #3: Bring an easily edible lunch. Ex: sandwich or cheese and crackers with salami.
A Gorgeous Day for a Hike
It seemed like the perfect spot to take our picture! There are many incredible places to take photos of you and your partner. The snow, at times, reminded us of winter, even though we had done the Athabasca Glacier hike in July. The hike is only open in the summer. It would be quite treacherous to do it in the winter!
Tip: Wearing a Merino 250 Top Base Layer might be a good idea to keep your upper body warm. It can get cold on the glacier, even if the temperatures at the bottom of the glacier are warm. Bring layers with you, including a winter hat, mittens, and a windbreaker, to protect you from windy gusts.
Large Snow Melts
We needed to watch our footing to avoid stepping into crevasses.
We also wanted to avoid stepping in pools of water or streams headed down the glacier.
It was incredible to see the volume of water rushing down the glacier like a small river! It was rather shocking. We weren’t interested in a ride down on a wet slide! It would be extremely cold to fall into those pools of water! Especially on a glacier! I remember going as a kid twenty years ago, and there were pools of water, but nothing like we saw in July 2021. It’s essential to visit these places to understand how quickly the glaciers are melting. It’s one thing to hear about it on the news, but to see it for yourself helps the idea sink in and understand how quickly our world is changing.
If you’re thinking of water adventures, kayaking Desolation Sound offers lots of fun!
Watch Out: Big Crevasses
Thankfully, we had our guide to alert us of the dangers that lay around us. The crevasses are easily hidden from view. The scary thing about a crevasse is that dangers lurked beneath the ice. The ice might look thick on top, but with one wrong step on a thin piece of ice, or falling into a crevasse, you could potentially get stuck underneath or disappear forever! The guide helps to prevent this outcome!
Tip: Pay close attention to every step taken and follow your guide’s lead. Approach crevasses with extreme caution if you’re brave enough to step close to one. I was very far away, not willing to attempt seeing it at all. Seeing this picture was the closest I’ve been to seeing the inside of a crevasse. I’m weak in the knees seeing it in the pictures!
Athabasca Glacier Hike: The Descent
Kris’s bright yellow jacket made him easy to spot the entire time on the glacier.
Tip: Visible coats are important, especially in poor weather conditions.
It was wonderful to have our guide show us different snow and ice formations that we might have missed on our adventure.
Reaching The Ice Explorers
Our group slowly made our way back to the parking lot after a great adventure! It was cool to see how much further we went past the Ice Explorers and have that gorgeous view of the glacier on our way down. It was neat to see it from a different perspective. The dirt road indicates the route Ice Explorers take to reach their destination. They have quite a bumpy road with major hills, hence why the vehicles have such large tires with deep treads. The road constantly changes with the yearly glacier melts. If you explore over many years, you’ll see the shift in the road placement.
Final Thoughts
The Athabasca Glacier hike was a wonderful experience! I would highly recommend going with a guide. We learned so much from him. The terrain is melting like crazy if you’re not familiar with the melting conditions, you could find yourself in a very scary situation by going without a guide. Ours was attentive to our needs (how fast we wanted to hike or who wanted to go into the crevasse). He taught us so much about how the glacier moves, and its surroundings. It opened up our eyes to the realization that our glaciers are melting extremely quickly and we should try to do more to protect them. It was a gorgeous landscape to explore and learn. We had the opportunity to hike a glacier and add it to our outdoor resume. The best part is that we got beautiful pictures from our lovely day outside!
Additional Links
- Epic 4 Day Jasper Summer Itinerary for Adventurous Couples
- Alberta Staycation Itinerary: Day Trips & Fun Stays from Edmonton
- Banff Unique Experiences: 3 Days Summer Itinerary
- 23 Summer Outdoor Adventures in Alberta
- Guide to Downhill Skiing in Marmot Jasper
Trip Resources
- Book your flights with Expedia
- Book your hostel through Hostelworld.com
- Book your hotel with Booking.com or Hotels.com
- Book your vacation rental with Vrbo
- Book your experiences through TripAdvisor, Manawa
- Book your guided trips through Viator or GetYourGuide
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