One of the very popular stops along the Icefields Parkway is the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park, just over the Banff National Park border. Here you can experience a unique adventure that will take you onto the surface of the Athabasca Glacier. From the Glacier Discovery Centre, you take a "transfer" bus (you can see one in this photo) to a staging area where you board an Ice Explorer. This unique vehicle (there are only 23 that exist in the world) is capable of climbing a 60% grade at a top speed of 25 miles per hour. Once on the glacier you disembark and are able to walk on it. Even in summer months, it is cold and many cup their hands and drink the pure glacier melted water. Quite the experience.
This shot was taken from the parking lot and shows the road that leads to the glacier on the right.