Athabasca snowcoach vs Juneau helicopter

[pmolsen]

We are doing an Inside Passage cruise plus a self-drive tour of the Canadian Rockies. We would love to do a helicopter tour to a glacier in Juneau (the 1-hour walkabout tour with North Star Trekking) but they are a bit expensive. We will be doing a snowcoach ride on the Athabasca glacier in the Rockies. Is that any substitute for a Juneau glacier landing?

I'm talking mainly about the experience on the ice - obviously the helicopter also provides spectacular scenery from the air, but my wife is petrified of flying so she probably won't even look out the window of the helicopter!

[Host Caroline]

We have done both... We were in Canadian Rockies in early September and the Athabasca Glacier looked "clear" from the lodge nearby.. got up there in the Star-Wars type snow vehicles and it was a blizzard! We thought it was awesome, very unique experience and even with the blowing snow it was obvious how gorgeous the glacier was. So have not seen it in clear conditions. In Juneau we had a gorgeous sunny day and the copter flight was well worth it (and I am NOT a "good flyer).. The experience on the glacier was incredible with all the colors of the ice in the crevices etc. So they were two different experiences on a glacier. Not sure if that helps much but if the flying is a real issue, the Athabasca is probably an excellent substitute..