I got to do something that everyone wants to do in Alaska and is one of the top 5 things that you can do while in Alaska, this was go hiking on a glacier for more than just 10-15 min as a lot of our tours do.
I went with northstar, one of our operators and they flew us up by helicopter onto the Mendenhall where they have a camp set up reasonably close to the face. We had been geared up with full waterproof gear, snowshoes and all the gear that was going to get us through the next 2 hours.
A bout 10 min in I realised that there were a lot of people who I had sent on this tour and told them that they would be fine physically however maybe I should have looked a bit closer, it was reasonably demanding, not so much physically but more in the department of co-ordination.
Anyway we got to see rivers coming up and out of the glacier as well as ice cavers and crevices that we could not see the bottom of. We hiked up and down steep inclines and decline to find all sorts of different landscapes. The landscape is constantly changing up there because the water carves new and easier ways for it to get out.
As you can see from the photos the glacier has a lot of dark blues, this is compressed ice where all the air has been pushed out, and only allows the blue colour to come through (sort of like a crystal with its colours).
Hats off to our guides Ed and Darcy, they did a great job and made sure everyone was on the same level and having a great time.
This is defiantly something that should go on your “should do before I die” list.
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