Sunday, May 17, 2009

Ice Climbing at Matanuska Glacier

Wow! What a spectacular day exploring and climbing the Matanuska Glacier in southcentral Alaska! The weather has been nothing but perfect all week.
Celine and Alexis about to get onto the glacier.
Each glacier I've been at has been unique, but this one tops them all off. The glacier is ginormous, and sits in one of the most beautiful locations. To make the day even more fun, what started as a 4 person climbing trip turned into 10.. lots of new people and lots of enjoyment on a picture perfect day.
Just to give you a gauge of the monstrosity of this glacier, here is the face of the first part of the glacier below. You can see another group of climbers here for size reference.
A few of our happy climbers...
..and belayers! Huge thanks to Dean for leading the trip.Here is a photo of some more detail of the glacier from a little farther back.
The radiative capabilities of the sun this time of year are enough to make one stand there and take it all in. :-)"We came, we climbed, we conquered... we got tired" - nothing like a tasty meal and ice cream after a good venture!

I do love the Matsu valley..... being here and despite the 7 hour drive from home, having access to such a place is something worth much to me. (some photos from Al and some from Celine. Thanks girls for letting me highjack them!)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

beautiful pics, juls!!