Glacier Skywalk set to open in Jasper National Park
Brewster's glass-floored walkway 280 metres over canyon has faced criticism from conservationists
A new tourist attraction opens in Jasper National Park on Thursday, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
Brewster Travel Canada’s Glacier Skywalk features a curved glass-floor walkway extending 35 metres out from the cliff-edge overlooking Sunwapta Canyon 280 metres below.
Visitors to the $20-million attraction on Highway 93 will be bused to the site from the nearby Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre
Travel writer Deb Cummings said she’s impressed by the skywalk.
"The aesthetics of it, and the engineering and the architecture — I didn’t think it would be as beautiful as the actual attraction,” she said.
An environmental assessment commissioned by Brewster found little or no impact on bighorn sheep and mountain goats during construction of the skywalk.
But Sean Nichols with the Alberta Wilderness Association said he doubts those findings.
He said this type of development doesn’t belong in the national parks.
"They represent almost a taking over of the management of the park in a sense by commercial interests, which we don't think is a good thing for the wildlife that live there and the ecosystem in general,” he said.