55 Plus | Rockies | Forgotten Frontiers | Off the Beaten Path

Overview

For early pioneers to the Rockies, facing winter was a true battle for survival, with no room for error many describe it as a "frozen hell". Settler and iconic Guide like Jimmy Simpson had to insulate his cabins using a mixture of mud, moss, straw, and horsehair. The gaps in the logs allowed cold wind to whistle through, proper insulation was a matter of life or death. Experiencing the Canadian Rocky Mountains in the winter feels like a completely different experience from the summer as the winter transforms the visual color palette. No drive is ever the same on the Columbia Icefields Parkway before reaching an old Simpson and Wilson cabins. The scenic drives turn into a winter wonderland. A compelling stillness settles that transforms everything around into a beautiful world of solitude and wonder. Ancient glaciers shifting and growling, and cascading waterfalls become icefalls.