Tuesday morning was beautiful and we were very optimistic that our glacier experience would happen, but we learned the day before that you can’t always judge the weather up on the glacier based on what it’s doing in town just a few kilometers away. We went to check in and were greeted with positive news and we began the briefings in preparation for our helicopter flight up on to the glacier. We proceeded across the main street and walked to the preparation area near the helipads. We got fully suited up with ice gear and waited our turn to board the aircraft.
Finally in the chopper, our pilot, Steve, ushered us up in to the glacial valley and ventured quite a distance up the glacier so that we could get a glimpse of the magnitude of its size. He then brought us back to the landing point in full roller coaster fashion with a couple of tight turns and swift descents that took our stomachs. It added a little excitement to the majestic sights of the ice field. After a smooth landing, we all piled out and joined the others in our group and began the final preparations before embarking on
our hike on the glacier.
Once the ice spikes (called crampons by our guides) were secure we ventured in to our first feature which was a 20 – 30 foot long tunnel that was naturally formed by the ice’s movement and shifting. It was an amazing time and spawned even more stunning views as the tunnel hosted many sections of blue ice which is caused by light refracting though extremely dense ice. After exiting the first tunnel, we continued through various valleys and features that the glacier had to offer. Along the way, the guide provided a var
iety of good information such as the section of the glacier that we were standing on was 400 meters deep and it was moving at about 5-7 meters per day down the valley. It was a unique experience to hear the occasional dull pop of the ice below us adjusting as it moves downward.
The weather turned out to be unusually sunny for the glacier and we found ourselves quite warm as the hike moved on. In fact, I took my jacket off at on
e point as we moved along. The bright sun magnified the blue colors and created an environment that we could have easily spent all day in traversing and exploring. Alas, it was time for our ice journey to come to an end, and helicopter arrived back on the ice helipad and whisked us back down to town. Upon removal of our ice gear, we jumped in the car and headed up the west coast for an extremely long journey to the northern shores of the south island and Abel Tasman National Park.
Finally in the chopper, our pilot, Steve, ushered us up in to the glacial valley and ventured quite a distance up the glacier so that we could get a glimpse of the magnitude of its size. He then brought us back to the landing point in full roller coaster fashion with a couple of tight turns and swift descents that took our stomachs. It added a little excitement to the majestic sights of the ice field. After a smooth landing, we all piled out and joined the others in our group and began the final preparations before embarking on
our hike on the glacier.Once the ice spikes (called crampons by our guides) were secure we ventured in to our first feature which was a 20 – 30 foot long tunnel that was naturally formed by the ice’s movement and shifting. It was an amazing time and spawned even more stunning views as the tunnel hosted many sections of blue ice which is caused by light refracting though extremely dense ice. After exiting the first tunnel, we continued through various valleys and features that the glacier had to offer. Along the way, the guide provided a var
iety of good information such as the section of the glacier that we were standing on was 400 meters deep and it was moving at about 5-7 meters per day down the valley. It was a unique experience to hear the occasional dull pop of the ice below us adjusting as it moves downward.The weather turned out to be unusually sunny for the glacier and we found ourselves quite warm as the hike moved on. In fact, I took my jacket off at on
e point as we moved along. The bright sun magnified the blue colors and created an environment that we could have easily spent all day in traversing and exploring. Alas, it was time for our ice journey to come to an end, and helicopter arrived back on the ice helipad and whisked us back down to town. Upon removal of our ice gear, we jumped in the car and headed up the west coast for an extremely long journey to the northern shores of the south island and Abel Tasman National Park.
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