Donning cleated hiking boots and cramp-ons (metal teeth that clamp to the bottom of boots), I cautiously guided my way across the glacier’s slushy surface. For stability, I jabbed my ice pick into the surface. Unlucky me though, previous hikers had worn down the pick’s point to a nub, rendering it almost useless.
Eight hundred steep steps ascending aside Fox Glacier brought our hiking group to this entry point where we trekked onto the ice. Our Fox Glacier Guiding leaders Steve and Megan led us through pre-cut paths, freshening the trail by hacking at the glacier’s face with massive double-headed picks.
All around us, crevasses and séracs added character to the glacier’s surface. Water (previously part of the glacier ice) flowed in crannies, pouring into holes melted away on the surface.
After navigating across blue ice for 20 minutes, we stopped on a flat vantage point. Every direction I turned gave me a more awe-inspiring view. Behind me the glacier inclined sharply toward it’s accumulation zone between the mountain peaks. In front of me, the glacier expanded into the valley, seemingly filling all the nooks in the terrain.
During the last ice age approximately 15,000 years ago, Fox Glacier reached the sea miles away. While the glacier has retreated since, it’s currently growing each year. Standing atop Fox Glacier, I felt I could truly see the glacier’s path, both past and future.
Pictured: Top: Looking at Fox Glacier from down the valley. Bottom: Hiking atop Fox Glacier with the inclined ice face behind me.
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