James06

We will likely be vacationing in Banff and Jasper next summer, including traveling the Icefield Parkway. My problem is that I truly love the mountains but cannot stand steep twisting mountain roads with deep dropoffs on the side. My wife does the driving, but I still can have a panic attack (a real one). How much of a driving challenge is the Icefield Parkway?

To put my problem in context I'll give an example. Last year in Southwestern Colorado, the ascent to Mesa Verde just about killed me (sharp turns, no guard rails). Similarly after riding the Durango to Silverton train, we took the bus back and just riding the bus back to Durango almost put me over the edge. Other than those two parts, the rest of the trip was fine. Hey, when everyone knows you're crazy it's actually fairly liberating!

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions and descriptions.

bob_brown

I don't find the Parkway to be a challenge. Mild road. A piece of cake.

That said, if the Mesa Verde road bothers you, I suggest avoiding the Icefields Parkway. Sunwapta Pass is steep with a big curve and a sharp drop off for a long distance on the passenger's side when going south to north.

It is a great road, but it is in the Rockies. And that means mountains.

Just drive part of it.

And do NOT go over Kicking Horse Pass or Vemillion Pass. The Big Hill on Kicking Horse gave the Canadian Pacific Railroad all it wanted.

I am not sure you should even take the turn up to Peyto Lake because the dropoff at the viewpoint is stiff.
Go as far as Bow Lake at Num ti Jah lodge for a view of the glacier.

I think that should be ok. But that said, I am not bothered by any of those roads which makes it impossible for me to get involved in predicting what will bother you.

I know that Kicking Horse, Vermillion and Sunwapta are steep in place, but I do not consider them winding at all, however. But that is my view of them.

I know a man asked me once about the trail to Lake McArthur. My wife and had hiked it twice at the time. Neither of us could remember anything except a steep step up about mid chest high on me. After our 3rd trip, we were a little more sensitive to trail conditions. If the man hiked it on our advice, he must have thought I was either a liar or blind.

But, the approach to Sunwapta is indeed steep.

Borealis

The parkway is steep in places but the road is wide enough and it has shoulders (and barriers at the sides of the road), that the sensation of falling off the planet shouldn't hit you. . . . hmmm. . . . . at all. Well, I suppose it depends on the direction that you are travelling in, but most of the road is not scary, just very scenic.
Ummm - can you close your eyes for those steep bits??? It might help to look off into the distance. Or keep your eyes fixed to a camera for photos - takes the mind off the location. Just some of my rambling thoughts. . . .

Judy_in_Calgary

I sympathize with you, James. I don't get panic attacks the way you do, but I do feel a bit nervous in busy traffic, on steep mountain roads, and so on. I believe my caution on roads dates back to a car accident my mom and I had when I was 7 years old. If I shut my eyes, I can still recall the sensation of being hurled around while the vehicle turned over. We didn't have seat belts back then, nearly 50 years ago.

Actually when I was new to Fodor's I used to find myself giving longer estimated driving times than Borealis did, and I'm sure it's because I'm a somewhat hesitant driver.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I recently stumbled on a technique for overcoming emotional blockages. It's called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). It involves using one's own fingers to tap on the ends of the meridians that are used in acupuncture (around the eyes, below the nose, on the chin, and so on).

I haven't used the technique. I've just been reading up about it. The host of a web site about it claims that people have been cured of post traumatic stress disorder and all kinds of maladies by using the technique on themselves.

I figure that, in a worse case scenario, it'll be ineffective. Since it costs nothing except a little bit of one's time, it involves no medication, it's completely non-invasive (there are no needles, etc.), I don't see what harm it can do.

If you want to read about it, you can do so at:

http://www.emofree.com/

All the best.

Borealis

Judy - it's my husband who is the fast driver, he generally drives 5 to 10 km/h faster than the posted speed, although he would never admit to it. Mind you, he generally drives with the flow of the traffic, he's not a speed demon passing everybody, so I assume that most people will do the same.
The other reason for shorter driving times is that distances between cities are usually measured from city centre to city centre. That's why driving from Calgary city limits to Edmonton city limits is usually shorter than the 3 hours most sources give (except if you are driving in a snowstorm - we've done that too, took nearly 6 hours!!).
Anyway, that's why the driving times I post are generally shorter than the ones you give (they are based on my actual experiences, and not on any other information).
By the way, there is no one in the world more cautious than me. I am so cautious that I do not drive at all. I tried to learn, but was way too nervous!!
Heights scare me too. When hiking over particularly steep sections in the mountains, I have the feeling that I am going to fall off the planet. I hang on to my husband for dear life, which he finds extremely amusing!!
I plan to look at that website you posted - might help for my many phobias!!
I don't notice the heights though, when my mind is preoccupied with other activities, such as photography, so you will usually find me with two or three cameras strapped around my neck, and one permanently attched to my nose !!

Scout

I always see the bright side of everything and nothing frightens me. But driving through the Rockies. NEVER AGAIN , And yes it's the most beautiful view and I recommend it to anyone who loves Mountains. The icefield is a Narural wonder worth seeing but if you can helicopter there, do it. I am an excellent driver and have no fears but I discovered that day that I wanted to be a driver and not a passenger. The road is very well engineered. It does not give you the sense that you will fall. The mountains though ,circle all around you and after a few hours you get the feeling you are trapped and there is no exit. Beautiful animals are everywhere and traffic stops for everything. The Banff Jasper area is not as bad as what follows westward from Golden to Vancouver. My very first panic attack (claustrophobic) happened that day. The beauty of the ride made up for it. Two weeks later I helicoptered to a Glacier in Alaska and it was worth it .
By the way, after the cruise I let my husband drive home and I took a flight.

WanderingRose

James, I can sometimes be quite bothered by roads w/steep dropoffs, as well. (quite often)
I'm usually okay, as long as I'm not the driver...
if I could drive them incredibly conservatively, I'd be okay...but put some 'heat' on me as a driver by way of some car hurrying behind me, or semi trucks next to me (on freeways like this) w/curves, & I'm totally 'white-knuckled' (as my hubby tends to point out).

So, I try to avoid attempting much of this...deferring to my hubby driving such sections. Makes for a far more enjoyable drive, as he's kind not to rush such curves or whatnot, which would scare me.

He can be a bit amused at times, by my white knuckles when I'm the one driving such stretches...but is realizing it's not going to get better, just by us laughing it off...despite his hopes. ;-)

Anyway, I've been twice to this glorious region, & have to tell you, I really can not remember an instant on the Icefields Parkway, esp. where I felt frightened in the way I think you mean!

Now, others writing here have referred to not particularly liking the mtns even...or feeling bothered by having a lot of them around at times.

That's not what I'm referring to here. Rather, I'm just talking about the actual *driving* conditions...steep drop-offs or not.

I don't even remember the road as being exceptionally curvy. For a road w/mtn views, I found it surprisingly straight often.

Also, the mtns (as far as I can remember, being there 2 years ago) seem set back a bit from the road, so you can see them nicely. (vs. driving incredibly close-up to them all the time) However, if you don't like seeing a lot of them around, then, yes...that's another topic. There certainly are mtns as far as the eye can see...quite other-worldly. (but, again, in such a unique way...as far as viewing goes)

So, I really think you'd get through the Icefields Parkway quite readily...w/perhaps only a couple of moments of 'irritation.' And, probably *no* moments of great panic.

I do tend to remember the drive over to Field is a bit more 'classic' mtn road...w/curves & such. (more harrowing for some) It wasn't dreadful, but one of those where I was glad my hubby was driving.
But, again, this is not the Icefields Parkway, but rather heads over towards Revelstoke.

I hope you can this region a try.
It's just so beautiful.

Like others have said...perhaps you could drive/ride partway along the Icefields...and be flexible on lodging that night? (and then, if it feels fine to you...just keep going!)
I think it will...
Best of luck!

jcasale

I typically have alot of trouble with steep, winding roads that have sharp drop-offs and I don't recall having ANY trouble with the Icefields Parkway. I think I even drove for part of it which says something. Of course we didn't go all the way to Jasper - we stopped at the Columbia Icefield and then turned back since we were just staying in Banff. But at least that section was wonderful and didn't bother me in the least.

James06

Thank you all very much for your insight and advice. And thanks to Judy for the website. Being in the mountains doesn't produce a claustrophobic reaction in me. I also know that mountain roads are by definition steep and curvy. However, in my mind there are different grades of scary. My problem is more specifically certain types of roads. It is impossible to describe exactly what does and doesn't bother me, however it's plain that some of you have a pretty good idea.

I've viewed many pictures of the Parkway on the internet and it does appear to be straight and well engineered in all. But I originally posted because I know that isn't a reliable way to tell. Still, if anyone has or knows of a particulary descriptive gallery of photos on line, please direct me to it. Sometimes I think looking at photos in advance helps prepare myself.

All in all, I think we're going. My wife will drive the Parkway and if it gets too bad I'll take a xanax (although I hate'em) and recline in the seat. That is truly ironic as I am always the one pushing to go to the mountains on summer vacation. Everyone else in the family would be satisfied with a Gulf coast beach!

Again, I truly appreciate the insight and the honesty.

bob_brown

I remember my mother having her share of terror going over the old Tioga Pass road, before the modern one was put in.

My wife actually at one stage feared Wolf Creek Pass, which is one of the milder ones in Colorado.

After she gained confidence, by driving over it a time or two, she is not now bothered by either the Grimsel or the Furka Passes in Switzerland.

The Icefields Parkway, Kicking Horse Pass, and even Rodgers Pass are pieces of cake compared to the Furka. It is a twisting snake of a road with tight hairpin turns coming and going.

Even the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse in Austria pales in comparison with the Furka and the west side of the Grimsel.

There is one pass in Colorado, however, that scares me: Independence Pass on the west side of the divide. Not because of the road, but because of the traffic relative to the road. East to west is ok; west to east is a different story.