A Glacial Glimpse

For many of you reading this, I would presume that winter is either partially or fully done with the process of ceding power over to spring. The same is happening here in Anchorage; sidewalks are mostly clear of snow, it is beginning to smell earthy and fresh, and one hears birds chirping in delight. However, before winter is reduced to only a memory, I would like to share one last adventure from the season. 

Several weeks ago, our unit drove down to Portage Glacier, one of the closest accessible glaciers to Anchorage. About 45 miles southeast of Anchorage, we have been meaning to check out the glacier for a while now, and finally took the opportunity. Like so many glaciers in the world today, Portage Glacier has retreated significantly over the past several decades (check out http://extremeicesurvey.org/, a project combining the art and science of photography to document the effects of climate change and other human activities on glaciers).  In 1986, a visitor center was built at one end of Portage Lake, across which the glacier lay. Today, the glacier has retreated around the flank of a mountain and can no longer be seen from the visitor center. In order to see it, folks are left with the options of hiking in, taking a short cruise, or through the use of a plane. In winter however, Portage Lake is frozen and so we were able to ski across the lake to see the face of the glacier. 

A graphic showing the retreat of Portage Glacier, around the corner and out of sight of the Visitor Center

Skiing across the lake to the glacier (which can't be seen in this image but is about a mile straight in, and then right)

A glacier is a thing of great beauty, and a clear blue sky served to heighten its appearance, allowing light to penetrate down into the blue recesses of the ice. Glaciers are otherworldly in their form and gigantic scale. Portage is a small glacier compared with many others in Alaska and elsewhere, but humans are still dwarfed by the huge face. I was drawn to the jagged forms of some of ice and the smooth, sculpted form of other parts. 

A glacier is also a thing of great power. Though one may initially think of glaciers as inert objects, they are in constant motion. As we watched the glacier, loud pops, cracks, and grating sounds could be heard from within. We witnessed several small ice calving events, the process whereby pieces of ice break away from the face of the glacier. The largest of these, upon falling from the face, produced a surface wave on the ice; much like what happens when something is dropped into water. It was slightly unsettling to see the ice sheet a quarter mile away rising and rippling towards us. Glancing sideways towards where the ice-covered lake met a rock cliff, one could see the entire ice sheet we were standing on moving slowly up and down perhaps a foot or more.  In fact, ice is very flexible and a small disturbance like this probably isn’t anything to worry about, provided you are a safe distance away from the calving face. But it does pay to take heed of the potential dangers associated with glaciers and respect the tremendous power that exists within them.

A chunk of ice calves off from the face of the glacier 

people probably standing too close to the glacier

two figures are dwarfed by the glacier