Ice Crampons hanging at the preparation point before heading onto the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina…
To make things easier to clamber over the Perito Moreno Glacier on an Ice-trek, we threw on some crampons for the trek. Ok, technically we sat back while the guides threw on the crampons for us. I guess at least this way everyone avoided that ‘tying shoe laces for the first time’ feeling. The crampons sit on the ground, you put your foot (with your regular hiking boot) onto it, then lash it into place with the straps.
Walking around with the crampons takes a little getting used to – it feels more like ‘stomping’ around the glacier rather than trekking. The technique I settled into was putting each foot down firmly and relatively flatly, so that all the spikes did their bit. Going by the steep hills and valleys that we tackled on the glacier, everyone seemed to get the hang of it.
The ice itself was the main attraction – the deep colour blue of the ice was incredible, and looking down into gulleys where meltwater had carved a deep crevice was mesmerizing. Why blue? The red (longer wavelengths) part of the light spectrum is absorbed by the ice – the further the light travels through the ice, the more blue it appears.
In some places where there were large flat areas of glacier surface, meltwater had pooled, but underneath was still areas of solid ice. From the surface it looked like an infinitely deep pool of water, but you could actually stand with your feet on the ice, a tiny bit below the surface of the meltwater. Totally freaky feeling. And highly recommended. Just make sure there is actually solid ice underneath first!
Even after finishing up a Grouse with fresh glacier ice, everyone made it through the remainder of the trek back to dry land. According to another website, the answer to ‘Does Glacier Ice last longer in drinks’, is actually ‘yes’. Apparently because the ice crystals are larger, which in turn melt more slowly. After an energetic hike though, I’m not sure anyone had a chance to notice the extra ice-melt time.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
1/3200 sec at f/2.8
ISO 100
45mm
Related Posts:
Famous Grouse on the Glacier
Perito Moreno Glacier Trek
Moreno Glacier, Argentina
