It was pissing rain all day long, which shouldn’t surprise me I guess because the Franz Josef Glacier is in a rain forest and it rains about 270 days out of the year. But still, it was definitely not what I had in mind. I came prepared, in many layers and by the end of the day, even with the “waterproof” pants and jacket they gave us I was soaked all the way through to the bone. I have never been so wet and cold in all my life. And unlike with a day of wet weather snowboarding, there’s no taking a break for some hot chocolate and there’s no epic powder turns to make it all worth it. It was all hike and no downhill and there were definitely moments throughout the day when I wondered why the hell I had ever signed up for this. But then there were also moments, in the middle, when I realized that I was seeing an amazing side of nature, something that I might not ever get to see again in my life, and that many other people will never see, and so in the end it was well worth it.
The rental boots they gave me were slightly too big and were soaking wet when I put them on, which totally grossed me out. But they advised me that I’d be thoroughly wet in a little while anyway so it didn’t matter, and turns out, they were right. If you can picture it, I was basically hiking for like 8 hours in wet sloshy boots that were a little too big, in 3 bottom layers, 4 top layers and carrying a backpack, which was soon, along with it’s contents, completely soaking wet. Good thing I put my lunch in a plastic bag, although there wasn’t even any shelter to sit under ever, so we ate in a hurry, standing out on the ice in the pouring rain. That was a first. It was like you didn’t really ever want to stop moving for very long because then you realized how wet and cold and miserable you were. But in a way, that was good because it made you thankful for the challenge of the hike. And I could tell I was getting a real workout. I kept thinking that snowboarding, in even the worst conditions, would feel like a piece of cake after this glacier hike.
After driving for about 15 minutes we hiked for probably about 1.5 hours to get to the glacier. We had to walk through mud and a few small streams (hence the soaking wet boots to begin with) and then we hiked through a very rocky valley floor, where they glacier used to be a long time ago but has since receded. When we got to the glacier we put on our cramp on things, which I had never worn before, and set out on the ice.
We spent about 5 hours out on the glacier wandering over and through the crevices and ice caves.
It was really freaking cool.
I have walked on a glacier in Alaska, but it was nothing compared to this.
We had a new guide named Adam and he was way cool.
It was only his 4th time leading a group and at one point he got lost, which was fine by me because we got to walk through more crevices and see more of the glacier.
Plus it added a little extra element of excitement and some much needed humor to the experience. I wasn’t worried about it, but I think a few other people in our group might have been. After all, you surely wouldn't want to get stuck out there on that glacier in the pouring rain! And without a guide it would be really hard if not impossible to find your way out.
One girl in another group slipped and fell about 16 meters head over heels but wasn’t badly injured, just a few massive bruises. A bunch of people turned back mid-day because they just couldn’t hang with the weather and the cold.
But nobody in our group quit and nobody complained. I can’t say it was a happy, or even a good day, but it was definitely special.
And I don’t know if the pictures can convey the feeling, but standing on one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world and getting to duck into teal blue ice caves and climb through narrow crevices of glacier ice was definitely an experience I will never forget.
And once again, I’m so thankful.
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