As I browsed through my canyon photos today, I kept returning to those of the frozen ice falls. Each brought me back to the time spent there.  I could have spent the entire time looking at all the different formations and colors.  Some of them were white as the snow.  Some of them were different shades of blue/green.  Other formations were light brown in color.  
 
There were different thicknesses of ice.  Some of the 'icicles' were solid while others were crystallizing from water seeping over/under them.  Some of the ice was so clear and thin that you could see through it like a pane of glass.


When all was quiet, I could hear water trickling from the canyon walls.  That, combined with the sound of the birds in the forest, would have made for a great relaxation recording.

The large ice wall that the climbers were traversing, was beginning to deteriorate at one end.  Water was dripping from the mid-section.  The icicles that were melting were becoming clear in color as they melted.

Our group consisted of people from Australia and Belgium.  The Canadians in the group were from Saskatoon, Victoria and Calgary.  I was the only person from the group that had been on a Maligne Canyon Ice Walk before.  Even so, I was just as mesmerized with the ice formations as the other participants.  That is one tour that you can take year after year and not see the same things.  The sound of the trickling water will not change but the seasonal temperatures determine the formation of the ice walls and they will be different each winter.

2014

2013

I was in Maligne Canyon last year and stood beside Bridal Veil Falls.  It was not frozen at that time.  This year, due to the temperatures dipping to the -30Cs last week, a layer of ice had formed on that wall as well.  I think it added to the beauty of the trickling water.  As the morning sun shone on the ice, it sparkled like diamonds.

From the comments heard as the other participants chatted on the bus, the experience is something that they will remember for a long while.  The scenery, the sounds, the pristine landscape contributed to a very relaxing and memorable morning.

Someone got creative with some ice blocks.

 

The day could not have been better for a trek through Maligne Canyon.  The temperature was perfect.  The sun was out and the sky was blue.

After the tour bus picked up all the hikers, we headed to the 6th bridge parking lot.  Here, we put our cleats on and crossed the temporary bridge.  Beautiful, clear mountain water flowed under it. The guide took us to the trail at the top where we hiked east to a point where the water no longer flowed on top of the surface.  We entered the bottom of the canyon where thick ice covered the canyon floor.

The ice was soft in places.  We had to tread carefully so we didn't end up with boots full of water.  Two of my fellow hikers ended up breaking through the ice.  As one of the guys broke through, he ended up taking our guide down.  She ended up soaked!

As we proceeded forward, a number of frozen waterfalls clung to the canyon walls.  At the largest one, two ice climbers were getting their gear ready.  This water froze with a hollow space behind it.  The space was large enough for us to walk behind.  What a beautiful, behind the scenes view we had!

We couldn't go through the entire way as the ice floor had dropped about ten feet.  It created a hollow space beneath an ice shelf that created an unsafe situation for hikers.

As we ventured back to the parking lot, I took in the serene landscape.  The evergreen branches had a dusting of snow that looked like icing sugar.  The sound of running water could be heard behind the ice falls.  Chickadees called from the tree tops.  I could see animal tracks in the deep snow, coming down from the canyon walls.

The hike was a great way to spend 2 hours outside on a beautiful winter day in Alberta!