(The following story by Tom Koenninger appeared on The Columbian website on February 6.)
JASPER, Alberta — Our first hint of trouble on the return home from Canada came when we were told the train hit a moose east of this Canadian Rockies town in Alberta, near its border with British Columbia.
The outbound leg of the trip was magnificent: Snow and ice in beautiful scenery, viewed from the comfort of a restored 1954 VIA Rail train with 10 stainless steel coaches and two diesel engines. It took us from Vancouver, B.C., overnight to Jasper, where we boarded a bus to travel the Icefields Parkway, and look at the Columbia Icefields, birthplace of the Columbia River.
We stayed overnight at the Banff Springs hotel, swam in its heated outdoor pool, and bused to Chateau Lake Louise to admire the frozen lake with Victoria Glacier on the horizon. Prime feature at Lake Louise was the International Ice Sculpture competition to create beauty from blocks of ice, using chain saws, hammers and chisels. Teams had 34 hours to fashion their artistry.
The return trip to Vancouver, Wash., was a different adventure, a measure of travelers’ patience and demonstration of Canadian hospitality, as well as the innovations of tour director, Tyson Verse. His helpful attitude — sorely tested — passed with top marks.
The moose accident was only part of the delay of the VIA Rail’s passenger train called the Canadian. VIA Rail is the Canadian equivalent of Amtrak. Other problems included frozen track switches, and a burst pipe on the train. No wonder. Temperatures tumbled to 35 degrees below zero. At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29, I recorded minus 12 on a personal thermometer, likely the high mark for the day.
We winter travelers — passing through snowfields, two-story iciclefestooned rock walls, and mountains of snow — were surprised to learn Southwest Washington schools had been closed by wintry weather. Temperatures at our Vancouver, we heard, were in the low to mid-30s, with a dusting of up to an inch of snow, increasing at elevations above 500 feet. This sounded like a spring thaw to us.
Jasper streets, packed with snow and ice, were treacherous. One train passenger fell while crossing, suffering a hairline fracture of the upper pelvis.
Despite a highway covered with packed snow, our bus moved quickly back to Jasper on Jan. 28 to meet the train, scheduled to depart at 3 p.m. on the return to Canada’s Vancouver.
Then we learned of the moose and train collision, and other problems.
Betrayed by the train
When the train had not reached Jasper by 6 p.m., VIA Rail issued dinner tickets worth $25 to each of the 31 members of the tour. When it failed to show after dinner, our host, Alki Tours, Seattle, treated us to a double feature in the movie theater of this community of 4,700.
Oh, the joy after the movies: The train was sitting on the tracks at the vintage railroad station.
We boarded about midnight and settled in for the night.
Oh, the shock: At dawn’s first light, Jan. 29, we awoke to the same view. The train had not moved. Then came the news: We were going to take the bus.
That began what was to be an 18-hour trip involving two buses and three drivers. This was a hardy bunch and we heard no complaints. Besides, a few of the train crew were with us on part of the trip, and made sandwiches for lunch. We stopped for dinner in Kamloops. Traveling down the Coquihalla Highway to Hope was a snowy, slippery ordeal with at least 50 cars and trucks stopped in ditches or alongside guardrails. Our bus slowed to a walking pace to stay on the road.
Passing through grumpy U.S. Customs, (compared with its friendly Canadian counterpart) we reached Seattle about 2 a.m. to pick up our cars. Snow touched us intermittently on the trip south, becoming serious in southern Lewis County, with a white-out that caused Interstate 5 to vanish. Only by following a semitrailer did we manage to keep going, sometimes at 20 to 25 mph. We arrived in Vancouver USA at 5:15 a.m. a week ago today.
Would we do it again? Absolutely. We had a great adventure with friendly, caring people.