Getting close to glaciers: explore the great frozen rivers of the cold west

Sunset, July, 1996

Explore the great frozen rivers of the cold West

It was as strange a place as we had ever been. A frozen river of translucent blue ice stretched before us. My family and I zipped up our jackets against the frigid air. Seconds earlier, a helicopter had deposited us directly onto West Creek Glacier, near Skagway in southeast Alaska. Now ice crystals crunched under our feet as we followed a guide for a glimpse into a nearby crevasse. We stood cautiously on the edge, looking down into a slit that was only 18 inches wide but nearly 150 feet deep. Our guide explained that this glacier moves about 2 feet a day. Soon it was time for us to move, too - to the helicopter that would whisk us off the ice and back to our hotel in Skagway.

West Creek Glacier is one of more than 4,000 glaciers in the West (only about half are named). To understand the natural history of glaciers, you need to go back 2 million years, to the start of the Pleistocene epoch. Since that geologic era began, there have been dozens of ice ages, each lasting about 100,000 years, punctuated by periods of warming. The last great ice age, called the Wisconsin Glaciation, which ended about 10,000 years ago, shaped much of the landscape that we see today in the Pacific Northwest. Surprisingly, most of the glaciers that exist in the West were formed more recently - between about 1300 and 1850, during a period called the Little Ice Age - but some in Alaska may be older.

The U.S. Geological Survey is engaged in a continuous process of inventorying glaciers, and records show that the vast majority of glaciers in the West are shrinking, some rapidly. Scientists have differing explanations: some attribute the shrinkage to naturally occurring global climate cycles, others to global warming. "Evidence is mounting that the burning of fossil fuels is affecting our climate, and this, of course, translates into global warming, which contributes to glacial melting," says Jon Riedel, geologist at North Cascades National Park in Washington.

Whatever the cause, glaciers are losing ground at a relatively rapid rate. When Captain George Vancouver sailed up the Inside Passage in 1794, Glacier Bay did not exist; the glaciers Vancouver saw were almost flush with the Alaska coastline. But during the last two centuries, those glaciers have retreated, opening up a 65-mile-long inlet where cruise ships now sail so that passengers can see huge chunks of glacial ice crashing into the sea.

In the Northwest and Alaska, several national parks and forests are great repositories of glaciers. Here we describe several of the most accessible and frequently visited glaciers, where you can join an escorted tour with a park ranger or experienced guide.

Your escort can acquaint you with glacier terminology. The smallest glaciers are hanging glaciers, and rest on the sides of steep mountain slopes. Larger, cirque glaciers are confined to the depressions on mountain-sides. Valley glaciers are fed from mountain slopes and confined by the walls of a valley. The largest glaciers in western North America are ice caps (found on summits like Mount Rainier) and ice fields (such as the Juneau Ice Field), which occupy broad mountain summits and feed valley glacier systems.

You'll learn that glaciers move in two ways. When ice reaches a thickness of about 120 feet, the weight of the ice itself causes it to become plastic and begin to flow. In temperate climates, where glaciers are warmer, they slide along on a layer of water beneath the ice.

You will also learn how glaciers have sculpted the land and how they continue to exert a mighty influence on our planet. It is estimated that 75 percent of the world's supply of fresh water is locked up in glaciers.

When visiting a glacier, be sure to wear warm clothing and sturdy shoes, and carry sunglasses and binoculars. Most important, never walk on a glacier without an expert escort.

ALASKA

Glacier Bay National Park. This is the most stunning place to watch glaciers. The bay is the terminus of 12 glaciers that move 1 to 5 feet every day. Chunks of ice from cliffs that tower 200 to 300 feet over the bay regularly split away from the glaciers in a process called calving, and plunge into the water with a thunderous splash.

The bay is a regular stop for cruise ships traversing the Inside Passage. Charter boat operators also offer trips into the bay, working out of park headquarters and the town of Gustavus, on the bay's southeast shore about 10 miles southeast of the park. Two companies offer kayak tours in and around the bay: Glacier Bay Sea Kayaks (907/697-2257) rents two-person kayaks for $50 per day; Alaska Discovery (800/586-1911) offers an eight-day guided trip for $1,890 per person, including meals.

At Glacier Bay Visitor Center, in Glacier Bay Lodge, you can learn about the formation of glaciers, how they move, and the environment they create as they recede. For more information, write or call Glacier Bay National Park, Box 140, Gustavus, AK 99826; (907) 697-2230.

Gustavus offers a number of accommodations, including B & Bs. You can reach Gustavus by plane or passenger ferry from Juneau. Write or call Gustavus Visitors Association, Box 167, Gustavus, AK 99826; 697-2358.