Inside a Glacier

If a volcano erupted and coated Valdez in a heavy layer of ash, I know what it would look like. The wind has been blowing for the past couple of weeks, and, despite flooding a few weeks ago, it's been so dry that we have a constant haze from clouds of silt in the air. We went out to Valdez Glacier Lake this afternoon because friends had said conditions were perfect for ice skating. While the ice was reasonably smooth, it was coated in a consistent layer of brown grit. Ugly! I'm actually ready for snow.

What an amazing afternoon we had. Glaciers are simply some of the most beautiful things on Earth. We were all able to find skates that fit from a large collection that had been given to us, but I quickly decided that me on skates was not going to be a good thing. It's been so long since I last skated that I was sure to hurt my shoulder. As it was, I slipped once and strained my shoulder reaching out to balance myself. Thane and Rowan both geared up, but Thane's skates were so narrow that he was in pain in short order. He switched back to boots, but Rowan did great skating, even on the rough areas.

The day was warm, the wind wasn't blowing (!), and the sun was shining  - we were surprisingly comfortable in light jackets, an unheard of phenomenon in November. We weren't the only ones out enjoying the day. There must have been about 30 people out skating, walking, exploring the glacier, roasting hot dogs over a bonfire, and sharing swigs of Hot Damn out of the bottle. 

You can see how brown the ice is from all the dust that's been blowing around. The crowd had fun, nonetheless.

The real treat of the day was exploring the terminal end of the glacier. Canyons of ice extended back from the lake, each one more beautiful than the last. The colors and ice formations were phenomenal. I was really missing being able to use my 35 mm DSLR camera (it's too heavy for me to be able to hold stably). My point and shoot didn't do too badly, though.

 

Layers of bubbles in the lake ice.

 

 

My shirt was turquoise and matched the ice perfectly.

In addition to the glacier itself, there was a large iceberg, one that's apparently been there for the last few years, that had a large cave in it. Not quite as exciting as the glacier, but worth checking out.

 

Now that I know it's only about a mile from the end of Airport Road to the foot of the glacier, I'll be going back. I anticipate several snowshoeing trips this winter, if we ever get any snow!