The Northern Lights - A Once In A Lifetime Experience

I was in Jasper on the 21st of January and headed out that night hoping to see the northern lights. There had been a lot of talk leading up to it, with forecasts showing extremely high aurora activity — some of the strongest readings seen in close to 20 years. Nothing is ever guaranteed with the aurora, but the conditions were lining up, and we were lucky to be in a great spot when it all came together.

The night began fairly calmly. Between about 8:00 and 10:00pm, the aurora was visible but steady — slow movement, soft bands of light drifting across the sky. It was still impressive, especially set against the mountains, but it felt like a typical northern lights display and nothing that hinted at what was coming next.

Then, for about 30 minutes, everything changed.

Almost without warning, the sky completely lit up. The aurora intensified rapidly and spread across the entire sky. Instead of slow-moving bands, the lights began to pulse, ripple, and break apart overhead. It felt less like watching something in the distance and more like standing beneath it as it moved.

What we were seeing were strong auroral substorms. With solar activity this high, energy from the sun builds up in Earth’s magnetic field and then releases suddenly. When that energy reaches the upper atmosphere, it creates fast, bright bursts of light — the kind that expand quickly and fill the sky rather than drifting slowly.

For that half hour, it was easily the most impressive northern lights display I’ve seen in North America, and very likely the best I’ll ever see. The lights weren’t confined to one direction — they were everywhere. Looking straight up, the entire sky felt alive with movement and constant change.

Jasper itself carried a different kind of weight that night. Around 18 months earlier, the area had been impacted by major fires, and the effects were still clearly visible. Large sections of forest were burnt through, leaving blackened trunks and open hillsides where dense trees once stood. Under the aurora, those burnt landscapes gave the area an eerie, quiet feel — stark, exposed, and still very much in recovery.

Seeing the lights above a landscape marked by fire made the moment feel heavier and more memorable. It was a reminder of how quickly environments can change, and how resilient — and fragile — these places really are.

Some moments you chase. Others just line up.This one was a mix of both — and one I won’t forget.