By River

The Athabasca River provided the best option for moving people and freight in and out of Bitumount, although it could be temperamental. If the river was running high, as it did during the spring melt, it might be hazardous due to debris and fast-moving water. If it was low, the usual channels could become impassable to larger vessels, which risked having their bottoms ripped out, no matter how shallow their draft.

Sandbars were an ever-present hazard. They were constantly shifting. This became a real problem at Bitumount, where the landing became completely silted up, and the water intake for the plant was affected.

During the winter, the river could freeze up completely, and all boats would have to be hauled out onto the shore or be crushed by the ice. Once solid enough, the river was transformed into a highway, and supported completely different sorts of vehicles.

There was no guarantee as to when the freeze-up or break-up would take place, although in general about five-and-a-half months between May and October were relatively reliably ice-free. Large shipments had to be timed for this period, but at either end of the range, the ability to navigate was entirely at the whim of nature.