Riding the Jasper SkyTram up Whistlers Mountain (2,263m) & Summit Trail to 2,463m

Located just 7 kilometres (10 minutes by car, taxi or Jasper Transit / SunDog Shuttle) south of downtown Jasper off Icefields Parkway, the Jasper SkyTram is the highest and longest guided aerial tramway in Canada, lifting passengers nearly 1,000 vertical metres in 7.5 minutes to an upper alpine boardwalk station at 2,263 metres (7,425 feet) elevation on Whistlers Mountain (named not after the wind, but after the high-pitched warning whistle of the furry alpine hoary marmots that live among its summit rocks).

1. The 7.5-Minute Guided Tram Ride & The 2,263m Boardwalk

Unlike small 4-person ski gondolas, each large Jasper SkyTram cabin travels with a live onboard flight attendant and guide who points out landmarks as the valley floor drops away beneath you. Stepping out onto the cedar boardwalks at the upper terminal (which also houses the panoramic Summit Restaurant), you look straight down on the confluence of the Athabasca, Miette and Maligne Rivers, the turquoise jewel of Lac Beauvert, Pyramid and Patricia Lakes, and six surrounding mountain ranges.

2. Hike the 1.4-Kilometre 'Whistlers Summit Trail' to 2,463m

Once the SkyTram has done 1,000 vertical metres of climbing for you, you are already standing above the treeline. Follow the signposted Whistlers Summit Trail (1.4 km each way / 2.8 km round-trip, 45 to 60 minutes up, 200m vertical gain) across the open, rocky alpine tundra to the true 2,463-metre (8,081-foot) summit cairn of Whistlers Mountain:

• See 3,954-Metre Mount Robson on Clear Days: from the summit cairn and the historic Centennial Survey Monument at the very top, you get an unobstructed 360-degree panorama, and looking 80 kilometres west up the Yellowhead Valley on a clear day, the colossal white ice pyramid of Mount Robson (3,954m, the highest peak in the entire Canadian Rockies) towers above every surrounding mountain.
• Spot Hoary Marmots & White-Tailed Ptarmigan: listen for a loud, sharp whistle as plump, silver-furred hoary marmots and camouflaged alpine ptarmigan birds sun themselves right beside the trail rocks. (Remember: the summit at 2,463m is windy and 12°C colder than Jasper Townsite, so wear closed-toe shoes and bring a windbreaker and fleece).