franz joseph glacier

Early this morning we got up, packed our backpacks full of food and water, and headed out towards the Franz Joseph Glacier (with glacier pronounced “glassiyar” for dramatic effect).  Our guide got us equipped with some outer layers of clothing, boots, and cramp-ons (spikes that attach to your boots) for the day.  After a short walk through what was once a river bed, we arrived at the base of the glacier.  It is much, much larger than it looks when you first see it, making seemingly short distances take quite a while.  On our full day excursion, we made it about halfway up into it, going up, over, and around various features that the ice had formed.  The guides were forming the trails we took as we went, carving out steps where necessary with their pick axes.  Glaciers are constantly changing, so it was cool to be going through naturally forming crevices and tunnels, knowing that within a matter of days to weeks they would likely be gone, completely transformed into something else.  It was definitely an adventure that we wouldn’t have thought to do before now, but we both really enjoyed the whole experience!