Taking a helicopter and landing on a glacier has been on my bucket list for a long time. I tried once in New Zealand, but my helicopter had to turn around due to bad weather quickly moving in. The weather window never reopened while I was there so my bucket list had to wait.
Until I got to Alaska! Up above Juneau in Southeast Alaska there are dozens of glaciers cascading out from the tall mountains. Some parts of these glaciers can be very dangerous to hike on. Deep cracks, called crevasses, seem to have no bottom. Early in the season they can be covered by a layer of snow, until an unwary hiker steps on it and plummets to their doom.
So it pays to go with a local guide that has intimate knowledge of the area. Before getting onto the helicopter they run you through the safety items, get you decked out for the weather, and size you up for crampons that will go under your boots to help grip the ice. I will say I've never felt more like an animal that with those crampons on. I could almost walk up vertical ice walls.
Then we loaded into the helicopter for a beautiful sightseeing flight. Finally we landed at a mostly flat spot, high up on the glacier. Here we donned our spiky crampons and set off over the icy surface of the glacier. I had my camera out to capture the otherworldly experience.
Our landing spot right on the ice. The blue of the ice and vastness of the glacier were so beautiful.
You can see the crampons attached to his boot, and the blue ice surrounding the hiker.
View on the way up
Getting ready for the adventure of a lifetime
Straddling danger. Hovering over a crevasse that goes hundreds of feet down.
Little rivers of meltwater ran every which way ontop of the glacier before finding a hole or crevasse to fall into. The waters inside were the bluest of blues.
Some of these rivers were so clear that it looks like there is no water in them at all
View of the glacier from above. It is a frozen river of ice
It was an incredible experience and one that I highly suggest for anyone traveling close to a glacier. Just remember to be safe, have a guide, and don't forget your camera!
You can check this out at pinmapple.com as well...
[//]:# (!pinmapple 58.760842 lat -134.708650 long Mendenhall Glacier Ice Hike d3scr)
-Dai Mar
