No matter where you look in the Rocky Mountains, you are likely to see the handiwork of alpine glacial activity somewhere in the area. As a force of steady erosion, glaciers are significantly responsible for the iconic shape of the Rocky Mountains, in which sharp and narrow ridgelines are separated by wide, “scooped out” valleys. This is especially true in Montana and Canada, where the cooler, wetter climate was even more friendly to glacier formation.
While glaciers were not the only force that played a role into sculpting the Rocky Mountains, they were one of the most significant, and surely the most dramatic.
How Rocky Mountain Glaciers Came to Be
To put it simply: Alpine glaciers are really just massive bodies of frozen moisture that form when the climate is cold enough to ensure that it gains more moisture annually than it loses. It can take a long time for glaciers to reach their maximum size … about 100 or 150 years on average, which is super-fast in geological terms.
When a glacier becomes large enough, it actually starts to move down the slope of the mountain from the force of gravity, picking rocks and dirt in the process and carving the landscape in interesting ways.
Glacier Hopping in Banff-Jasper
Glaciers represent a significant tourist draw for many parts of the Rocky Mountain region, but perhaps none more so than in Canada. Seeing first hand how massive bodies of ice were able to dramatically shape the surface of the earth is a humbling and awe-inspiring experience.
The same is true of taking a long walk across the Columbia Icefield. This ~ 200,000-year-old beauty is the largest body of ice in the Rocky Mountains and it runs partially along the border before Banff and Jasper National Parks. It is also surrounded by some of Canada’s most popular hiking peaks, including Columbia, Snow Dome, Mount Athabasca, and more.
The Columbia Icefield is technically six different individually defined glaciers that sort of blend into one, but each glacier maintains its own specific boundaries and motions.
Skiing the Glaciers of Rocky Mountain National Park
Though very prone to slab avalanche conditions, there are a few glaciers in Colorado that have become popular destinations for adventurous skiers and snowboarders who want to experience a few glacial runs before they’re melted away.
Both Tyndall Glacier and Andrews Glacier can be accessed through Rocky Mountain National Park, and there are several tour companies operating out of nearby Estes Park that will take you up there in a helicopter.
The Glaciers of Today
Without a doubt, the glaciers that formed the northern Rockies were incredibly massive … much larger than the ice bodies that exist today. Still, there are dozens of different glacial formations that can be visited in the Rocky Mountains from Colorado to Canada. These glaciers are the subject if intense study, as glaciologists are still trying to unlock all the secrets of how glaciers formed, moved, and melted.
Unfortunately, the opportunity to study these icy formations is growing narrower. As average global temperatures continue to increase, the average glacial mass globally continues to decrease. In the Canadian Rockies alone scientists predict up to 70% reduction in glacial mass over the next 100 years.
On the other hand, the opportunity to study the retreat, or melting of a glacier is just as important, and there is no telling what discoveries are still waiting for us under the ice.
