Employee Seriously Injured in Columbia Icefield Vehicle Incident

A Pursuit employee was seriously injured after a tour vehicle incident at the Columbia Icefield on Tuesday, prompting the company to cancel glacier tours while authorities investigate what happened.

Cpl. Mathew Howell, a public information officer with the RCMP, told Bow Valley Insider that the vehicle was travelling up toward the icefield while mechanical tests were being conducted when an issue occurred with the vehicle and it rolled over.

The driver, who was the only person in the vehicle, was taken to hospital in Jasper with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, Howell said.

Stuart Back, chief operating officer for Pursuit Canada, said the vehicle “left the lateral moraine access road at the Columbia Icefield.”

The company said the Sept. 1 incident occurred while a Pursuit team member was conducting an operational maintenance check. No guests were onboard or involved.

Back said Tuesday that the employee has since been released from hospital and is recovering at home.

Pursuit also clarified that the vehicle involved was not one of the large Ice Explorers used to transport visitors onto the Athabasca Glacier. The company described it as a small tour vehicle.

The cause of the incident has not been determined.

“We are gathering the facts surrounding the incident and reviewing the circumstances carefully with the applicable authorities,” Back said in a statement. “We will not speculate about the cause while that work is underway.”

Back said the RCMP, Occupational Health and Safety and Parks Canada are involved, and that Pursuit is cooperating with each agency.

Howell said the RCMP received the initial call about the incident, but officers did not attend the scene, and the matter was subsequently handed over to Occupational Health and Safety.

Bow Valley Insider has contacted Parks Canada for additional information about its response to the incident. A response had not been received by publication time. This article will be updated when more information becomes available.

Glacier Tours to Resume Sept. 3

The incident temporarily shut down Pursuit's glacier tours at the Columbia Icefield.

Back said tours were cancelled following Tuesday's incident to allow the company to respond and complete operational and safety assessments. Glacier tours remained cancelled Sept. 2.

Affected guests were offered refunds or the opportunity to rebook.

The company announced Wednesday afternoon that its Columbia Icefield Adventure would resume Sept. 3 after receiving clearance from the relevant authorities.

“Following the completion of required reviews and clearance from the relevant authorities, Columbia Icefield Adventure operations will resume on September 3,” Back said.

Ice Odyssey tours, however, will remain unavailable until at least Sept. 8. Pursuit said affected guests will receive a full refund and can rebook on a Columbia Icefield Adventure tour if they still want to visit the glacier.

The Columbia Icefield Skywalk was not affected and has remained open because it operates separately from the glacier experience.