Snow In August!

I got back to the top tram station just in time, as a thunderstorm rolled through, delivering thunder, heavy rain, ice pellets, and even a few wet flakes of snow! Not surprising, seeing how the temperature outside was probably 3 or 4c at that point. This delayed me getting down the mountain by an hour, leading me to cut out my plans to go see the Athabacsa Falls.

The Hike Up Whistlers Mounatin

In the previous entry, I alluded to my inappropriate dress for the elevation that I was about to visit. At the top of the tram, the temperature was chilly 9c, compared to 21c at the base camp. As I began my climb to the summit, the wind began to blow, and clouds swirled in from the north. Rain began to fall, and then shortly after, the rain became mixed with ice pellets. At this point, I realized I had to turn back and get back to the chalet, or this impending storm would turn into a very bad situation for me!

Of note, picture #4 is the view towards the town of Jasper from an elevation of 2,242 metres, and picture #5 is the view down the tramway from the top (the tower at the bottom is actually just beyond the top of the mountain shown in the tramway picture in the previous blog entry!)

Jasper Tramway

Getting out of Jasper at 3 pm, I didn't have the luxury of time to see alot of the national park's attractions, so I settled for the Jasper Tramway, which takes you up Whistlers Mountain. The first pic shows the view down from base camp, the second is a relief about what is needed before going up the tram (e.g. warm clothes, for which I was woefully underprepared, as I was dressed in a t-shirt and board shorts!), and the third is the view is the path up the mountain that the tram takes (more than 1000 metres straight up).

Arrival In Jasper

Pictures from the streets of Jasper. Jasper surprised me, as it was a great a town as Banff was, except that the Miette Hotsprings are 40 km away, instead in the town proper. I walked around the town for about a hour, and then headed off to my next destination for the day: The Jasper Tramway.