The majesty of the icefields is beyond description. He who has been fortunate to be there once, remains bound forever. To a theoretical physicist working on black holes the icefields produce a familiar vertigo, the instinctive certainty of being confronted with something so simple and beautifully extreme that it must be of importance. The meeting whose proceedings are contained in this volume was conducted onboard of a vessel that went to the icefields, and the participants could literally set foot on them. It was expected that, for those who had not been there before, this would constitute a ritual of initiation. And so it did. For this reason we like to refer to the meeting as an expedition because, although it did not have the hardship, it had the spirit. After this foundational expedition there have been two others, this time both with spirit and hardship, one from Chile and one from Argentina. At the moment of this writing, a fourth, full-fledged airborne expedition to the icefields is about to depart from Valdivia. Many of the people of many nations who were on board of the Aquiles will take part in it. We look forward to its results, and to an ongoing exciting scientific adventure. Claudio Teitelboim Director, Centro de Estudios Cientfficos Valdivia, September 2001 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This volume is the result of the effort and generosity of many people and institutions.

RMB is pleased to present the third edition of Summits and Icefields 1: Alpine Ski Tours in the Canadian Rockies, one of our bestselling guidebooks. Researched and written by legendary alpinist Chic Scott, with the assistance of mountain guide Mark Klassen, this guidebook will continue to be the bible of ski mountaineers in the Rockies. There will be plenty of new tours in the book, particularly in newly developed areas where skiers can grab a few powder turns near the road. Information on other areas will be either greatly expanded or completely rewritten and updated. The entire book will be printed in colour, showcasing many mouthwatering ski images and destinations. Digital shaded maps prepared from satellite imagery will illustrate the routes and terrain and will allow this guidebook to set a new standard for ski guidebooks in North America. The companion volume, Summits and Icefields 2: Alpine Ski Tours in the Columbia Mountains, will appear in autumn 2012.

On an expedition in the Canadian Rockies at the end of the nineteenth century, Dr Edward Byrne slips and falls almost 60 feet into a crevasse on the Arcturus Glacier. While trapped, hanging upside down and wary that the slightest movement could send him plunging deeper into the abyss, Byrne notices a mysterious winged figure embedded in the ice wall. The vision shakes his sanity, and after his recovery continues to haunt him until he abandons his fiancee and his medical practice in England and returns to a lonely vigil in a shack near the spot on the ice where he almost lost his life. His spirit trapped, he seeks the truth by questioning closely the strange characters that cross his path and meticulously recording the advance and decline of the myths and legends of an early settlement and is transformed by the coming of the railroad into a thriving tourist centre - with an impact as far away as the battlefields for the First World War.

This guide to alpine ski touring in the Columbia mountains features popular ski ascents, glacier tours, and commercial lodges. It also includes the basic information needed before heading out, including that of snow conditions, weather, regulations, and required equipment and clothing.

"At a quarter past three in the afternoon, on August 17, 1898, Doctor Edward Byrne slipped on the ice of Arcturus glacier in the Canadian Rockies and slid into a crevasse... Nearly sixty feet below the surface, Byrne is wedged upside down between the narrowing walls of a chasm, fighting his desire to sleep. A stray beam of sunlight illuminates the ice in front of him with a pale blue-green radiance. There, embedded in the pure, antediluvian glacier, Byrne sees something that will inextricably link him to the vast yet disappearing bed of ice, and the people who inhabit this strange corner of the world. In this moment, his life becomes a quest to uncover the mystery of the icefield that almost became his tomb. Along the way, he encounters a series of eccentrics, each involved in their own quest: the explorer Freya; the industrialist Trask; the poet Hal; and the slightly mad Elspeth, Byrne's lover. Within the deceptively simple framework of a tourist guidebook, Icefields takes a breathtaking, imaginative look at the human spirit, loss, myth, and elusive truths. Here is an impressive literary landscape, and an expedition unlike any you have ever experienced. This edition will have an introduction by Rudy Wiebe and an interview between the editor, Smaro Kamboureli, and the author."--

Banff is one of the most renowned tourist destinations in Canada and the most popular in the Canadian Rockies. It is the oldest national park in Canada, the second in North America (following Yellowstone in Wyoming) and the third oldest park in the world (following Royal in Australia). It encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 square miles) including the Lake Louise area and part of the Icefields Parkway. Over 8 million people enter Banff Park each year, of which over 3 million are considered park visitors OCo the highest visitation of any Canadian National Park. Most of BanffOCOs natural attractions are easily accessible from its scenic roads and highways. Popular sites around Banff townsite include the Cave and Basin National Historic Site, Upper Hot Springs Pool, Cascade Gardens, Tunnel Mountain Drive, Vermilion Lakes, Johnson Lake and Lake Minnewanka. The townsite imparts a cosmopolitan atmosphere with an expansive array of tourist services as well as cultural attractions such as the Whyte Museum, The Banff Park Museum and the Banff Centre. The Bow Valley Parkway, Lake Louise and the Icefields Parkway also present countless opportunities for sight seeing and wildlife viewing. Banff National Park maintains 1,500 kilometres (932 miles) of trails and 50 backcountry campgrounds. In winter, three downhill ski areas service the area. Connecting Jasper National Park and Lake Louise in Banff National Park, the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) is considered to be one of the premier mountain drives in the world. The 230 km (143 mile) parkway follows the Continental Divide north-south as well as the Athabasca, Sunwapta, North Saskatchewan, Mistaya and Bow Valleys. Glaciers that remain from the ice ages dot the landscape, seven icefields within viewing distance of the parkway. The highlight of the drive for many is the Athabasca Glacier, the only road accessible glacier in the parks.a The author grew up in the Canadian Rockies and has been exploring them since she was a child. The Canadian Rockies are one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, with four million visitors annually. Easily accessible adventures include walking, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, boating, horseback riding, skiing and wildlife viewing -- with some of the most spectacular animals in North America. Where else can you spend the morning hiking through spectacular wilderness and by afternoon enjoy high tea in one of the grand hotels? The guide is filled with inside information on how to avoid the tourist traps and where to find the special places off the beaten path that the tourists don't know about; the most worthwhile outdoor adventures and indoor activities; the hotels and restaurants at all price levels that are the very best; plus tips on places to avoid. Each chapter covers transportation to and around the park, where to stay and eat, attractions and shopping, plus adventures, from drives to day hikes, rafting to cycling. Competing guides focus on the standard tourist sites (where the crowds can ruin your experience), while we take you to the lesser-known spots (restaurants, lodges, hiking paths), which are often more rewarding. A review of the complete Canadian Rockies Adventure Guide from which this is drawn: Having been to the Canadian Rockies numerous times and thinking we had seen all the wonderful places before we discovered this book, we now must plan many more trips there to explore all the other incredible places described in detail in this Guide. With numerous beautiful color photographs, most of which are by the author, this guide is a treasure because the scenery of the Canadian Rockies is some of the most spectacular in the world. A unique feature of this guide book is that it includes hiking details for each of the areas described. Since we have hiked many of these areas, we know this is a necessary and valuable tool for planning hikes. With each section Koller has Hikes, Drives, Sights, and Activities, so for non-hikers it is just as valuable, also giving information for booking guided tours. -- Bonnie Neely (Amazon reviewer)"

The Columbia Icefield is the largest sub-polar accumulation of glacial ice in North America. Because it is possible to drive to the second largest glacier flowing out of the Columbia Icefield, it is the best-known ice age feature in Canada and a remarkably popular tourist destination. From this amazing and accessible ice mass we can learn a great deal about how water shaped our landscape in the past and how it will shape our civilization in the future. Despite a century of accelerating recession, the Columbia Icefield is still an incredible geographical feature. It is a high basin of accumulated snow and ice that presently straddles 223 square kilometres, some 86 square miles, of the Great Divide, the stupendous mountain wall that marks the boundary between the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. It also straddles Banff and Jasper National Parks, contributing significantly to their designations as United Nations World Heritage Sites. Written by one of Canada's most respected experts on water and water-related climate processes, this remarkable book offers a clear and concise visual overview of the geological history and features of the Columbia Icefield; an outline of human presence in the glaciated landscapes of the mountain West; and a breathtaking photographic tour of one of the world's most amazing landscapes.

Winner of the Canadian Rockies Award at the 2005 Banff Mountain Book Festival, this comprehensive climber's guide and history of the 54 11,000-foot peaks in the Canadian Rockies celebrates in words and images these breathtaking summits and the wilderness settings over which they tower. This book uniquely captures and distills the lively and frequently forgotten accounts of the pioneering climbers and their various routes. Each entry provides a vivid description of the peak, an extensive history of the early ascents of it and a detailed description of moderate to intermediate routes, including access and approach information. Now extensively updated, the text is liberally illustrated with route and climbing photos, both contemporary and historical, and includes detailed area maps.