Ah man, last year's smoke was awful, some days it stayed dark all day, it looked kind of apocalyptic. Luckily I was in Jasper right when it started before it got bad so it didn't foil my entire summer plans but I don't think I left the house much after that.
Yup she's pretty moody here! lol I think Alberta has snowfall on record for every month of the year. The first year I was here, there was a blizzard and total white out conditions in July in Calgary. Last year winter started the last week of August in Edmonton. Columbia Icefield is pretty amazing but when it storms it's really angry and it gets pretty ugly up there! Ever been on the glacier aboard the snow crawler? Here is me drinking from the Athabasca glacier.
I know right!! Them silly easterners! New-Brunswickers are the same way, don't get me wrong the east is nice but it's not jaw-dropping Rockies nice, or how they get all proud and brag about the struggles of doing a 20 minute climb up the local mountain. 😂 I think it's hilarious, come climb Mount Robson and tell me again about the struggles! Love em to pieces but I still get a good laugh.
I hear you on the bad weather, we like going to Valemount after the tourist season close for dirt cheap cabins. Last year we drove to Wells Grey Provincial Park for the day, and it was kinda stormy. On the way we found a dozen of flipped vehicles including many transports with chains around a narrow mountain bend with a big drop on the other side. It was kinda nerve racking and we have an avalanche with studded tires and generally feel pretty secure but we were both really nervous! We came up with a protocol that I let @silvergingerman know when he should aim for the mountain if things go wrong and lose control. The Jasper-Mount Robson stretch is pretty nasty when it's stormy too. Too bad that your plans are getting rained out, I hope you get some nice temperature and get chance to go before winter hits.
Never been on the glacier. Last summer we drove all the way to Ontario through that smoke, and we finally came out of it somewhere north of Lake Superior. For anyone reading this who might not understand the distances involved, that's over 3,000 km or 1,900 miles in the forest fire smoke. It felt like the end of the world. I couldn't drive with a mask on, but when Cathy took the wheel I would put my mask on and try to sleep.
Are you familiar with Mt. Rundle, Alberta? Some call it the most beautiful mountain in the Canadian Rockies. Here's how it looked last August... see if you can make out the shape.
OMG I didn't realize the smoke went that far as to reach the Great Lakes! That's pretty intense. Respiratory protection helps during those times but I agree driving with it might be cumbersome. I'm a smoker yet I have above average lung capacity and even I was struggling and my lungs felt pretty raw. @silvergingerman had migraines from it all summer. I don't even want to imagine what the elderly, babies and those with breathing difficulties must have gone thru during those times. Just horrible to even think about.
Wow you can't even see Mount Rundle, just a very faint outline. That will put a damper on photography real quick. I was at Maligne Lake's Spirit Island at the very beginning of the fires(within the first couple of days), it wasn't even that bad yet at that point and already the landscape was disappearing. By the way, as beautiful as Mount Rundle is, my obsession is still Mount Robson.