Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/309330
74 W E S T W O R L D A L B E R T A | S U M M E R 2 0 1 4 Enter the Dome S now Dome. It may sound like some kind of Arctic battle coliseum, but no: it's a 3,450-metre-tall shale-and-limestone summit in the Columbia Ice eld. And it supplies fresh water to much of the continent. It's also one of only a few hydrological apexes in the world, points from which meltwater drains into three oceans – in this case, the Arctic, Atlantic and Paci c. Snow Dome has been dubbed the water tower of North America, says John Wilmshurst, resource conservation o cer at Jasper National Park, and it's vital to Prairie life: " ere's no water generated in the Prairies; they're reliant entirely on water that comes from the mountains, and that particular source." Intrigued? As of May 1, visitors can gaze upon the Dome, and the rest of the Ice eld, from a dizzying new vantage point: Glacier Skywalk. is 400-metre walkway leads to a glass viewing platform, which protrudes from a cli 280 metres above Sunwapta Valley. e structure is cantilevered; held in place by steel rods embedded 16 metres into the rock face. So there are no bulky cables or beams to block the heart-pumping view. It's just you, cloud-skimming glaciers and lodgepole-pine forest below. Far below. Hop a shuttle or rented bicycle to Skywalk from the Columbia Ice eld Glacier Discovery Centre –an hour south of Jasper – to risk vertigo and learn about the region at six interpretive stations, including one about, you guessed it: Snow Dome. W ROADSIDE COURTESY OF BREWSTER TRAVEL CANADA Members save 15% on Glacier Skywalk tickets. AMARewards.ca/ GlacierSkywalk p74-75Roadside.indd 74 14-04-29 9:41 AM