From any high point west of lake Louise one can catch glimpses of a much larger snowfield towards the north near Mts. Daly and Balfour, but the glaciers flowing from it are not so easily reached as those to the south of the railway.
There are glaciers in sight during most of the descent by rail from the summit of the pass through the wild Kickinghorse valley to Field, in the Yoho Park, from which the Yoho valley may be visited with Yoho glacier at its head. Descending beyond this into the warm depths of the Columbia valley the alpine type of scenery is lost for a time. As the railway climbs laboriously westward out of the valley into the Selkirks, Glacier Park is entered. Here the scenery grows more striking until at Rogers pass one is once more surrounded by snow peaks—hidden, alas! too often by the long snowshed. The five mile tunnel now being pierced to avoid the heavy grades of the pass will cut out many a ravishing view of snow peak and ice tongue; but a stay at Glacier, just beyond the pass, gives an unrivalled chance to study a fine glacier with the least possible trouble.
The Illecillewaet or Great glacier is only a mile and a half from Glacier station and as its foot may be reached with very little climbing, more travellers visit it than any other glacier in Canada. A climb to Mt. Lookout just west of the glacier gives a magnificent view over the Illecillewaet glacier and névé and over the grand mountains surrounding it. This region was the first part of our snowy mountains to be carefully explored and mapped by a skilful climber. The Rev. W. Spotswood Green made Glacier his headquarters for this work in 1888 and published his interesting book “Among the Selkirk Glaciers” in 1890.
THE ILLECILLEWAET OR GREAT GLACIER, GLACIER PARK
There are still finer snowfields and glaciers in the little explored region to the north around Mt. Sir Sandford, the highest point in the range (11,634 feet), though these are out of reach for the present; but any of the higher peaks near Glacier give a marvellous view over a wilderness of snow and ice broken by cliffs too steep for snow to lie.
CREVASSES, GLACIER SOUTHEAST OF TEN PEAKS
Some of the lower points of the Selkirks, just west of the Columbia valley, not more than 7,000 or 8,000 feet in height, face the opposite Rocky mountains with 100 or more glaciers in sight at once, the view beyond the wide and deep valley sweeping 150 miles of the main chain on its snowy western side. Unfortunately up to the present no path has been made to such a lookout point, and the dense forest makes the ascent difficult.
The greatest névé in Canada, so far as known, is the Columbia snowfield covering 100 square miles and sending tongues of ice down into a dozen valleys, but this is 80 miles northwest of Lake Louise and can only be visited with a camp outfit and packtrain. Its northern limit will be within new boundaries of Jasper Park and some day a good road will lead through the mountains past this splendid glacier region from the Grand Trunk Pacific to the Canadian Pacific opening up to the public the finest glacial playground in Canada.