Do you want a memorable trip for you and your website visitors? Here’s a idea: discover a glacier.
Earlier this week, I hiked with my family members by the remnants of the Kennecott Copper Co.’s processing plant in the vicinity of the town of McCarthy. Our location: the Root Glacier. Our guideline, Violet, with McCarthy River Excursions, packed our crampons and a very first help kit for the journey. Every single of us packed h2o and a lunch for the journey. It was a two-mile hike to get to an access stage on the glacier, even nevertheless the total valley is coated in ice from the Kennicott Glacier.
We realized it was likely to be an magnificent hike soon after parking the car and going for walks throughout the footbridge into McCarthy. It crosses the Kennicott River. On a clear working day, you can see the peak of Mount Blackburn (16,390 feet) and comply with the ice tumble which feeds the glacier and in the end flows into the river. It’s an unbelievable sight.
If you get there by air in McCarthy from Chitina, you get a different look at. It is no a lot less outstanding. Wrangell Mountain Air gives two flights a day on the 60-mile route. If the weather conditions is obvious, your pilot may fly via 4th of July Pass, so you can get a bird’s-eye view of the huge ice tumble on Mount Blackburn, as well as the enormous mash-up among the Kennicott Glacier and the Root Glacier. You can also see all of the aged copper mine properties on the mountains from 100 years ago.
No matter whether it is by land, by sea or by air, a journey to get up-shut to a glacier has to be on your Alaska bucket checklist. There are plenty of operators to assistance you check the box. Some places are remote, but others are fairly close to Anchorage.
In addition to guided treks on the Root Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, you can stroll up on a couple of glaciers, which includes Matanuska Glacier. Both of those MICA Guides and Nova Alaska Guides offer you treks on the Matanuska Glacier, about 100 miles from Anchorage on the Glenn Freeway. The charge for a fundamental tour is about $90, plus a $25 entrance rate to the glacier. You also can decide on a longer glacier trek — or even some ice climbing.
Down in Seward, Kenai Backcountry Adventures provides daytrips and right away excursions on Exit Glacier. The firm rates this excursion as “strenuous”, due to the fact to obtain the glacier you have to climb up the mountain! These visits are a very little longer, up to eight hrs. Expense is $189 for every adult. The park entrance at Exit Glacier is the only highway obtain to Kenai Fjords Countrywide Park.
From LeConte Glacier near Petersburg to Prince William Sound, there are tons of solutions to see glaciers. Ordinarily, the more compact the boat, the closer you can get to the ice.
Chugach Adventures in Girdwood gives a combo journey with the Alaska Railroad to get up close to the Spencer Glacier. First, you hop aboard the educate in Portage to journey up to the Spencer Glacier quit. Along the way, the coach stops to decide up rafts for the float trip part of the journey.
On arrival at the Spencer Glacier prevent, guides pull the boats off the practice on to a trailer. Rafters hop in a van for a small experience up to the place-in place. The guides get the inflatable boats set up and then you hop in for the excursion. Dependent on glacial activity, there could be plenty of icebergs in the lake and you can get shut plenty of to touch them. Right after some time checking out the glacier and icebergs, you continue on the 7-mile float down the Placer River. Then, the prepare will come by on the return trip to choose you up!
For a nearer look at of the glacier by itself, Chugach Adventures also gives guided kayak excursions.
On the way to Whittier, you can end at Portage Lake and go on the Ptarmigan, a boat that was specifically-constructed to acquire travelers to the facial area of Portage Glacier. The trip lasts about an hour — and it is a good way to get close to the ice.
In Whittier alone, you can hop aboard the Yukon Express for a substantial-speed trip up School Fjord. And certainly, you can see 26 glaciers, which is why Phillips Cruises calls the tour the “26 Glacier Tour.”
If you have a group of at the very least 4 people today, go on a guided kayak journey with Lazy Otter Charters. To start with, the crew hundreds the kayaks on the h2o taxi. From there, it is off to Blackstone Glacier for a couple of several hours. Lunch on the seashore is bundled, just after which the crew leads the kayakers to nearby Beloit Glacier. All safety gear is included.
In Seward, there are a number of choices for glacier cruises, with a healthier dollop of wildlife included.
Just one of my favourite cruises is the Countrywide Park Cruise, supplied by both equally Big Maritime Excursions and Kenai Fjords Excursions. Dependent on the certain itinerary, you are most likely to get an up-close appear at some hanging glaciers in Thumb Cove or Humpy Cove. Alongside the way, view for otters, puffins and eagles.
The big ice arrives up when you arrive at Aialik Bay. Aialik Glaicer appears large from a distance, but your captain can get you so shut that the ice fills the overall horizon. You might see some harbor seals on the modest icebergs close to the face of the glacier.
Both equally Key Marine and Kenai Fjords Excursions provide outings deeper in to the park to Northwestern Fjord. It will take more time, but the glaciers are absolutely diverse. In Northwestern Fjord, the glaciers have receded much more quickly, leaving the barren rock uncovered.
Captain Eric Simpson was at the helm of Kenai Fjords Tours’ “Orca Voyager” past thirty day period as we entered the fjord. “These glaciers have modified radically even due to the fact I first commenced sailing below 7 yrs ago,” he reported.
The Orca Voyager is a substantial-velocity catamaran that cruises at 25 knots. That further velocity arrived in useful considering that we stopped to check out a couple of humpback whales breaching and slapping their tails just exterior the fjord.
Around in Valdez, Stan Stephens Cruises operates two tours: one particular to Columbia Glacier and a longer tour to Meares Glacier. Both equally tours give improvements to see wildlife in addition to significant ice!
If you want to kayak amid the icebergs in Valdez, examine with Pangaea Adventures. You cannot miss out on their kayaks — they are lined up right next to Stan Stephens’ boats in the harbor. Choose a h2o taxi to nearby Shoup Glacier or take a lengthier vacation to Columbia Glacier.
Most of the readily available glacier outings by air use a helicopter. Alpine Air in Girdwood flies to close by 20-mile Glacier. Alaska Helicopter Excursions departs from Knik River Lodge, 54 miles from Anchorage. The lodge is virtually around the corner from Knik Glacier, Colony Glacier and various others. Based on the tour you choose, you could go for a dogsled journey with puppies from Dallas Seavey’s kennel!
One particular of my favorite glacier outings is on a ski aircraft that requires off from Talkeetna Airport for Denali. 3 operators offer visits from the airport up to the Ruth Glacier: K2 Aviation, Talkeetna Air Taxi and Sheldon Air Provider.
Really, there are many glaciers on which to land in scenario the Ruth Glacier will get fogged in. On a distinct working day, you are going to take pleasure in a trip up the Good Gorge of the Ruth Glacier, surrounded on the two sides by big mountains. It is remarkable.
No matter if it’s by land, by sea or by air, you nevertheless have time this year to get up near to a glacier. Keep in mind: ice is wonderful. Just really don’t ignore your crampons!
Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-dependent internet marketing expert, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty location sectors, amid other folks. Get in touch with him by e mail at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter (@alaskatravelGRM) and alaskatravelgram.com. For additional information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.