Jasper aerial tram, and hiking Whistlers Summit
The main adventure for our second full day in Jasper was riding the aerial tramway. Cathy’s not a big fan of getting into the air that way, but did want to see the view so agreed to come with me. This was Day 41 of the trip – Friday, June 3.
We could see the upper terminal of the tramway from our campsite at Whistlers, so it was hard to ignore. I’d ridden it once before, many years ago, but it was early in the season, the weather wasn’t great, and there was too much snow at the top to hike further. This would be Cathy’s first ride on it.
The first job of the day, though, was to move the motorhome. We had reserved the serviced site, #52J, for 2 nights, but decided to stay another night, and no serviced sites were available. So, for $27, we moved to an unserviced site, #30GG. What a difference! This is apparently a very old part of the park, and both design and maintenance are at a lower level. The site wasn’t nearly level, the trees were close, and even the picnic table was old and in need of paint. Oh well…
Planning for a full day of exploring, we were at the tram just after 09:00, an early start for us. I like to be able to see what makes this sort of rig work – large windows make that easy here.
Starting up on the 7-minute ride, looking to the west up the valley of the Miette River. Two busloads of teenagers followed us up on the next “flights”.
Nearing the upper terminal at 09:28. The lower terminal is at 1,258 meters (4,127 feet), the upper is at 2,263 meters (7,424 feet).
The view to the north. Look down, look waaay down, to the Jasper townsite at 1,062 meters (3,484 feet).
I really wanted to do some hiking, and the 1.2-km trail to Whistlers Summit looked to be about perfect. It’s a 400-foot climb to 2,470 meters (7,847 feet).
Despite the signs, some people still build cairns at the summit, using the rocks that were put in place to mark the trail. Leave No Trace – Stop building cairns / inukshuks.
Cathy started walking with me, but soon went off on a less-steep trail to the side. The elevation no doubt compounds the steepness of the trail.
The TrailPeak.com summary of the complete trail that starts in the parking lot (not using the tram) says: “The final kilometre to the summit is a cake-walk compared to the rest of the trail. Weaving in and out of hyperventilating and often ill dressed tramway riders will give you an ego boost that’ll put a spring in your step.”
There’s no shortage of excuses to stop and enjoy the views and catch your breath for a minute. There was plenty of huffing and puffing going on among the students on the trail as well as those of us not quite so young.
The final climb crossed a few patches of snow even on the 3rd of June.
The rounded summit of Whistlers Mountain. As hard as it is to believe at almost 8,000 feet elevation, it seems to me that a glacier must have rounded it off.
The views from the summit were definitely worth the climb. This is to the north, with Pyramid Peak to the left.
Mount Edith Cavell to the south.
The summit monument seems an odd choice of places to live, but some hikers might be quite generous. These are Golden-mantled ground squirrels (Callospermophilus lateralis).
None of the students, many very poorly dressed, lingered on the windy and chilly summit, but many of us did, savouring the views.
Climbing some of the huge glacial erratics was irresistible to some 🙂
Looking down on the Canadian National Railway, Pyramid Lake Road, the Miette River, and the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16).
Rejoining Cathy at the upper tramway terminal, we decided to extend our stay by having an early lunch at a window table. The burger was very good.
A glass of water wasn’t available in the cafe, only bottled water. Given the logistic problem of getting water up there, that wasn’t surprising. It was surprising to see water available for the dogs who come up on the tram or trail, though – two thumbs up, tram operators.
On our way back down at 11:30.
We spent the rest of the day wandering around the town, and playing with Bella and Tucker at the leash-free park. I was surprised by the length of the VIA Rail trains – I thought that rail travel was still on the decline.
Molly always lets us know when she wants to join her family outside. It doesn’t happen very often, and she’s always great with a harness and leash to keep her safe.
On Saturday, we’d continue on to Hinton for a 4-night stay, after doing a bit of hiking at Mount Edith Cavell.
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