Alaskan Glaciers
"Coolest" Part of Alaska

Alaskan glaciers broadly cover much of the mountainous regions of southeastern and South-central Alaska.



Even though there are thousands of acres of glaciers, many of them are melting away at quite rapid rates. While only a few are increasing in size.

For instance, Portage Glacier which is just off the Seward Highway, had a small lake with icebergs in front of it, in the mid-1980's—as you can see in this picture. Today, there are no icebergs and there is no glacier visible from the front of the lake.

On the other hand, the Matanuska glacier, which is just off the Glenn Highway, increases by one foot per day.

And the Hubbard Glacier which is 75 miles (120.5 km) long, ending in the ocean in Southeastern Alaska, expands by about 80 feet (24 m) per year.

Glacier Size -
Just one Alaskan glacier, the Malaspina, is larger than the State of Rhode Island. It is a combination of several glaciers coming out of valleys and forming one large mass of ice across a plain. On the plain, it is about 60 miles (96.5 km) across at its widest and length is about 28 miles (45 km), from the mountain base to its face.

There is a huge icefield in the middle of the Chugach - St. Elias Mountain ranges that feeds the Malaspina Glacier on one side and the Bering Glacier (which is about the same size as Malaspina) on the other side of the mountains. This icefield, named Bagley, is itself 125 miles (201 km) long, as wide as 15 miles (24 km) in some parts, and estimated to be about 3000 feet (914 m) deep over most of its length!

And that's only a FEW of the Alaskan glaciers. So there's definitely no shortage of ice. I wonder why we even need refrigerators - between glacier ice, freezing weather for about nine months out of the year, perma-frost in the ground and icy cold streams!

But I guess you want to hear about viewing and climbing glaciers, so here's what I can tell you.

First of all, unless you are an experienced climber and know the hazards connected with walking on glaciers, check with someone who knows the particular glacier you want to climb. Find out what areas are safe to climb or walk on and where it is dangerous to be around.

Glaciers can have huge cracks in them which are extremely deep. The surface can become quite slippery under certain circumstances. Glaciers are moving slowly but constantly and huge pieces of ice can fall off of them at any time. Unless you have the right equipment for climbing on them and know how and where to climb, it would be very easy to get badly injured. So use good judgment.

EASY ACCESS ALASKAN GLACIERS For GLACIER HIKING AND VIEWING:

On Your Way to Anchorage:

Matanuska Glacier - Is right near the Glenn Highway at mile 102 from Anchorage. For up close viewing, there is a public viewing area you can drive up to. If you want to climb on the glacier, you have to go through Glacier Park and a fee will be charged.

You have many choices in what you can do there. You can go glacier hiking on your own, or with a guide. They have glacier trails to follow and they can be easy or difficult. They also give basic climbing lessons. Glacier Park is open from March through the end of October.

On Your Way to Seward:

Exit Glacier - About three miles before you get to the port town of Seward, there is a road on the right, that takes you close to Exit Glacier. Then you take a short hike uphill from the parking area to the viewing area. There are trails around the glacier also that you can go hiking on but pay attention to the 'danger' signs.

There is a nature center building at Exit Glacier where Park Rangers meet with people and take them around Exit Glacier and onto the Harding Ice Field for short and long walks. These are scheduled at various times and days throughout the summer months. You do not need to register for them and there are no fees, but check with the Park Headquarters at 907-224-7500, for the scheduled times. Recorded information is at 907-224-2132.

On Your Way to Valdez:

Worthington Glacier - Just 30 miles before you get to Valdez on the Richardson Highway, is a turn off for Worthington Glacier. There is a one mile trail you can hike, to get close to the ice and explore along the glacier face. There is also a ridge trail that will give you some spectacular views.

Other Alaskan Glaciers:

There are lots of glaciers in Alaska and you can get some fantastic views of them from our major highways. Or from backwoods roads and trails in our National and State Parks. So bring your camera with telephoto lens and binoculars. You won't be disappointed.

I was in a small aircraft flown by a Civil Air Patrol pilot, who landed on Eklutna Glacier. We walked around on it and didn't see any cracks, luckily. The ice was beautiful tones of azure and aqua blue. Then he flew down into the very narrow creek valley at the edge of the glacier. There was a sheer rock wall on one side of us and a sheer ice wall on the other side. You could see the creek at the bottom and the valley looked like it was a thousand feet deep. We were flying about a hundred feet or so below the surface of the glacier. He was even tipping his wings from side to side, to ensure he did not run into either wall. And believe it or not, there were three Dall Sheep standing on a very narrow ledge at eye-level with our plane. They were so close, it looked like you could reach out and touch them. It's hard to even imagine how they got there, since the rock wall looked like it went straight up and down!

There are many businesses in local areas that provide flight-seeing tours, so take advantage of some of these and get some real spectacular views of Alaskan Glaciers from the air.

After viewing and climbing around Alaskan Glaciers, you might also want to explore some Alaska volcanoes and hot springs. Now, I realize you don't want to get near a live volcano - that's way too hot! But you'll certainly enjoy Alaska's hot springs and thaw out too...

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