From the Icefields Center, you can take a 1 km tour called the “Glacier Skywalk” offered through Brewster Tours. There was a discounted “Glacier Explorer” package price for doing both the Glacier Skywalk and the Snocoach Glacier Tours, so we decided to check out both. From the Snocoach tour, you immediately board a bus that takes you directly to the Skywalk. There is a handheld audio tour (available in numerous languages) included in your admission, which allows you to peruse the exhibit at your own pace.
You start along a cliff edge walkway and end up on a glass-floored observation platform that is cantilevered 918 feet above the glacier formed Sunwapta Valley with rushing waterfalls. There are stunning alpine and glacial vistas. The audio tour talks about the geology and development of the area, the wildlife, and hydrology of the area and the construction of the actual Skywalk itself.
The Glacier Skywalk opened to the public in May 2014. The curved structure protrudes some 30 meters from the cliff’s edge. It is built of steel, wood and glass to “echo the natural environment”. It is anchored into the mountainside through girders combined with a concealed cable suspension system which creates a balance of compression and tension that supports the curved path while minimizing the visual structure. Unfortunately, I did not take notes and have not been able to find some of the specifics on line, but I believe the numerous supports were driven 50 feet into the mountain!
Glacier Skywalk
No doubt this is an architectural feat. Like our other Brewster tours, we felt this experience was more crowded than our liking, and we were there in a shoulder season. There is non-stop busloads of tourists dropped off about every 15 minutes. Everyone wanted to stand on the railing to take their selfies, making it difficult to get unobstructed views let alone even get to the railing. While the structure is interesting, we could have skipped the tour.
