#4 The Glacier Walk

#4  The Glacier Walk – Up Close and Personal

As I mentioned, the glacier we visited once had one face but had shrunk back over a few short years to what are now actually 4 faces. It was upon one of those sections that we boated to and then scrambled over a rock and boulder field until we reached a side of the glacier. Along the side we looked at, not into, an ice cave hollowed out at its’ base. In the opposite direction a torrent of water was flowing out from under the glacier, forming a river that drained into the fjord. This revealed that there is significant melting from beneath the glacier as well as from above.

Before hiking on the glacier, everyone put on crampons, devices clamped to our boots with many sharp blades/spikes that made for secure hiking on the ice. We found it was not necessary to stomp down with the crampons, rather a normal walk provided all the traction needed. 

The glacier was much higher than it appeared from below and had many crevices, nooks and even holes where rushing water could be seen inside. This hike on the glacier was more than I expected. In fact it was like hiking up a small mountain, with peaks and valleys as we ascended upward. In close up appearance the glacier appeared as tightly compacted ice crystals, not as a solid piece of ice. From a distance the glacier looks white and with the distinctive blue tinge. Thus the term “blue ice”, and defined as the recrystallization of snow in glaciers. It was also described as the result of compaction of the air trapped in the glacial ice. The more scientific explanation is glaciers appear blue due to reflection and scattering of the blue light present in sunlight. The sunlight shining into the ice gets reflected back and no absorption of light by the ice particles takes place, thus large pieces of ice appear blue.

Finally the ice appeared dirty, and in some places streaks of darker ice were evident. Taking a hunch I asked if this was the result of falling ash from erupting volcanos over the eons. Short answer, yes, but more precisely caused by pollution from a black substance called cryoconite, much of it caused by human activities and known as “biological darkening”. While white surfaces help to reflect the suns rays, darker soot carrying cryoconite absorbs heat hastening the melting process. You can determine, as I saw, how this is causing the ice caps to melt so rapidly. Further the same dark cryoconite causes holes in the icecap/glacier surfaces which hastens further, deeper melting within glaciers. This ice melt and release of water results in higher sea levels. 

You, readers of my blog, are capable of deducing what this means and why there is such grave concern for planet Earth. 

This was a major reason for my visiting Greenland, to see for myself the glaciers and why they are melting at an alarming rate. 

While I was thrilled to experience this expedition upon a glacier, there remains the underlying results of how and why our climate is changing. The need of a balance of nature is widely accepted for sustaining life on Earth. One might say part of that balance, Nature’s thermostat, is broken. 

Draw your own conclusions, but ignoring or dismissing that there is a problem will not make it go away.

Editorializing done.

Returning to the boat, we had our daily “picnic” amongst the boulders near the shore. The usual fare, ramen noodles and broth in hot water, cheeses, crackers and spreads, sliced sausages, coffee, tea, cold cuts, canned sardines or other fish and energy or candy bars.

Back on the zodiac boat we ventured past the other faces of the glacier, slowly cruising past and then on to the glacier face that was directly across from camp, over a mile away. We spent a fair amount of time out away from it, marveling at its’ size and coloration. Water was flowing out from under and thundering sounds as ice broke free often behind what was visible to us. At one point as we floated silently, observing, a smaller portion of the glacier calved, thundering and cascading down into the water. Gulls aplenty filled the air especially as the ice broke away falling into the water. Apparently when the ice breaks and falls into the water, it stirs up some bottom food source that is forced to the surface providing a feeding ground for the birds. Except for the gulls squawking around us, it was otherwise a tranquil experience.

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Returning across the fjord to camp, we found a kayaking group had also taken up residence near our camp. Having their own tents, they remained apart from our dome tents. Reportedly, this kayaking group had some difficulties on their excursion through the fjords and may have been behind in their planned itinerary. I recognized several of that group being on the same flight from Iceland to Greenland. I had considered that kayaking trip in Greenland, but after experiencing the weather and how much easier it was to be transported quickly by zodiac boat I was happy that I did chose my current itinerary. 

This was our last night in camp. We would be returning to the hostel the next day.

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