Alaskan Glaciers

When you come to Alaska one of the more exciting experiences is watching a glacier calving. That is when the ice, which constantly moves down the hill, hits the water’s edge and the sheer massive weight of the ice cannot be supported by the water and enormous sections as large as 50’ x 100’ by as much as 40 to 50’ in depth break off and literally create a wall of water as the ice can fall from over 150’ in height. Clearly this a scene not to be missed.

Glaciers are always white to blue in color because all the other colors are absorbed by the ice thus only blues remain. The age of the ice is questionable however a lot of people like the estimate of the last 10,000 years. In reality the ice is closer to 200 to 800 years as the snow which gets compacted falls every year and over time creates a slow moving river of ice. This ice flow, which is constantly a downward move, literally is sliding down hill with melt water from underneath the glacier providing the lubricant to allow the ice to flow.

In the past five years, this writer has seen a substantial increase in the size and volume of ice calving from the glaciers. Whether this phenomenon is a direct result of global warming or perhaps a very long cycle repeating itself in our short 100 years on earth remains to be scene or agreed upon. In any event the ice is falling into the sea and slowly raising the sea level all around the world.

To arrive at the glaciers one has to take a yacht or excursion vessel from Juneau to navigate the narrow fjords and perhaps get close enough to the face of the glacier to see them calving. The fjords are ½ mile to 1 mile in width and some 5000 to over 6000 feet in height. It is one of the best days you will spend while visiting SE Alaska. Most cruise ships do not go into the fjords - only the smaller yachts and excursion vessels will try to get to the face of a glacier making a private charter yacht a truly once in a lifetime experience for the privileged few.

Temperatures in the fjords can drop 20 degrees or more from where you enter the fjords at Stephens Passage. The temperature drop is due to the miles of glaciers that cover the mountain ranges above the fjords. Since cold air sinks the fjords being long and narrow tend to hold the cold air in place for a long time. Bringing gloves and warm clothes for this adventure day with Mother Nature and her icebox of ice is not a recommendation but a necessity.

Caledonia and Alaskanwcharters.com are one of the 12 yacht that regularly ply the waters of the fjords of Alaska to bring you “up close and personal” to all the sights and sounds that the real Alaska has to offer.