Close-up glacier experience is a drive-by wonder

From the road, it looks like Mother Nature is sticking out her tongue at everyone who drives by.

The icy tongue is Athabasca Glacier, one of dozens visible along Canada's Icefields Parkway. The highway runs past ice- and snow-capped peaks along the Alberta side of the Continental Divide in western Canada. The route wends through two national parks: Banff and Jasper.

Athabasca Glacier stands out from the others because it's so much closer to the highway than the rest. In fact, just a little more than a century ago, it would have crossed the road. The glacier started receding in 1843, and these days, it loses about 30 feet per year. Its terminal moraine - the pile of dirt it pushed as it advanced - is still visible at the visitors center about a mile from the glacier's current end.

A trail brings hikers close to the toe of the glacier, and I hiked it first, hoping for a chance to touch the ice or stand on it. That would have been extremely dangerous. Beneath Athabasca's toe is a small lake, and a rushing stream of chilly water separates the trail from the ice. Barriers and countless warning signs kept me from a direct encounter.

The dangers aren't limited to a glacier's toe. Deadly secrets may be lurking anywhere on the enormous sheet of ice. One misplaced step can send a clueless tourist on an icy plunge. The crevasse can wedge its victims in, then freeze them to death long before rescuers find them.

Despite those perils, I wasn't satisfied with viewing the glacier from a distance. I wanted to not only see it, but to stand in the middle of it, and perhaps even sip some of the water that trickled from its ancient blue core.

Fortunately, there was a way - one that didn't involve hopping barriers or risking my life. A tour company drives visitors out onto the ice in slow-moving buses called Ice Explorers. The powerful machines have a transmission that can creep up hills at an 18-degree angle, and tires so fat, they roll right over crevasses. The Ice Explorers climb up to the middle of the glacier for a view that's simply amazing.

Once there, I was free to wander - at my own peril. The guide strongly suggested remaining in the "turnaround area," essentially a cul-de-sac in the middle of the ice that provides a place for the vehicles to make a u-turn. The people who run the tours check the ice here regularly for danger. It was almost certainly safe, except for the occasional hidden "kettle pots" that could soak me up to my ankles if I happened to step into one.

I had less than 20 minutes standing atop one of the most powerful forces in nature. Glaciers have shaped mountains and carved some of the world's most breathtaking canyons. This one might be retreating, but it was still hard at work, moving the earth far below my feet. Parks Canada estimates Athabasca is up to 1,000 feet deep, and at the turnaround area, it's moving 80 feet per year downhill.

At the edge of the safe zone, a trickle of water made its way downhill. For the first time in hundreds of years, it was free to flow into the Sunwapta River, then the Athabasca River, and eventually into the Arctic Ocean. I scooped a handful and tasted it. Zephyrhills doesn't compare.

On our return trip, the guide provided fascinating information about the glacier and its sisters. The surrounding peaks cradled a number of "hanging" glaciers, ice sheets that were detached from the much larger Columbia Icefield.

Athabasca is one of six glaciers still connected to the massive mountaintop icefield. At its upper end, the Columbia fed the Athabasca with a fast-moving (at least, fast in glacial terms) frozen waterfall. Since the Columbia Icefield spans two different divides, its melt will end up in three places: the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans.

Just before the end of the tour, as we arrived back at the visitor center, the guide had one more reminder.

"Parks Canada asks that you remove nothing from the park. So, if you took a sip of glacier water, remember to visit the restroom before you leave."

IF YOU GO

•Icefields Parkway is open year-round. However, it can close during bad weather.

•Ice Explorer Tours have ended for the winter. They'll resume in April. At last check, the tour costs $49, Canadian, for adults, and $24 for children; about $47 and $23, U.S., respectively. No reservations are necessary; just check in at the Icefield Centre and buy your ticket.

•Admission to Jasper National Park is required. A one-day park pass is $9.80, Canadian, per person. If you're planning to spend several days, or visiting several parks, buy the annual pass for $67.70, Canadian.

•Accommodations are available in Jasper (104 km, or 65 miles, north). There is also a hotel at the Icefield Centre.