Ice Fields & Audis

By: Ryan Ponto

When you think of Western Canada, there is typically one thing that comes to mind – the mighty Rocky Mountains of course. So, when it came time to plan a larger, longer, and better event for the newly invigorated Audi Club Western Canada, the club had a clear location in mind…ice clear one might say. Situated a decent distance from both Edmonton (440 km) and Calgary (315 km), the Columbia Icefields along Highway 93 were the perfect meeting place for two of the club’s larger cities in Alberta.

Mid-September, the plans all fell into place and the Edmonton group began their morning bright and early by meeting at Audi North on the west end of town. With the sun just coming up on a chilly fall morning, it looked to be a perfect day for a cruise. Given they had the longer drive, this group took off from Edmonton heading south through the prairies and zig zagging their way closer to the Rockies. Once out of the city, they were graced with blue skies and open highways all the way southwest where they picked up some additional members in Rocky Mountain House for the final half of their drive.

From Rocky Mountain, the fun part of Edmonton’s drive began as they headed down the David Thompson Highway into the heart of the Rockies. The twists, turns, and amazing views along this highway as you pass Lake Abraham and its cyan blue water is like no other. Add in the sound of a collection of Audi’s firing on all cylinders and it’s something special that only an enthusiast would truly understand.

About 45 minutes after the Edmonton departed, the Calgary group was ready to go from Audi Royal Oak, escaping the rain they’d been waiting in for much of the morning. The group headed west down Highway 1 to Canmore and Lake Louise, before turning north on Highway 93 and poised to meet up with Edmonton at the Saskatchewan River Crossing. Even though they had to deal with the rain, these drivers were the lucky ones with the shorter drive, quicker entrance into the Rockies, and ultimately blessed with more time in the beautiful mountains enjoying the twist and turns along the way.

Around noon, both groups managed to roll into the Saskatchewan River Crossing within 15 minutes of each other. Given that there were delays, stops, and perhaps a few sections of spirited passing and no cell service on the highways, it was quite the timing by both groups. Almost like years ago: making a plan to meet with a time and place and just show up – no constant texts or calls to check in as it seems we all do these days. This allowed everyone to really enjoy the drive and views along the way.

From there, the entire group of 30 cars headed down the final leg of the highway with a few photo stops along the way. A wide range of cars, from a beautiful new Sonoma Green RS 5 and Navarra Blue RS 6 to an imported C5 RS 6 and even an old S2 clone, graced the roads with glorious ICE noises, reverberating off the surrounding mountains playing music to the drivers’ ears. This fantastic day of driving finished off with hanging out in arguably one of the best parking lots in the world, and backed by the glistening glacier ice off in the distance.

Thank-you to Audi Club Western Canada event sponsors who provided the group with some great prizes for members.

Audi Royal Oak – Calgary

Audi North – Edmonton

Continental Tires

Liqui Moly