Capturing the Moment

  It takes a lot for me to switch from still photography to video mode on my Canon 5d but this event was worth it. We had spent the morning kayaking up to Dawes Glacier from about four miles back. We weaved our way through the ice, sometimes hearing small calving events that still sounded like thunder off in the distance ahead of us. When we finally got closer I was able to capture the end of a huge calving event including a couple of shooters rising up from below, with our skiff in the foreground for a little perspective.

  Every week I get to visit a tidewater glacier here in Alaska. It can be very exciting because tidewater glaciers, those that flow all the way down into the ocean, have a tendency to calve. This is where big, sometimes huge chunks of the glacier fracture off and crash down into the ocean. The noise created by both the fracturing and hitting the water echo throughout the fjord in what locals call the 'white thunder.'      A famous quote up here is 'they speak to you in creaks and groans, and thunderous roars.'   We were lucky enough to see some calving at Dawes glacier during our last two visits. It is pretty southern as far as tidewater glaciers go, and very active. The long winding ride up to the glacier through Endicott Arm has been chocked full of ice bergs, hinting at the activity of the face of the glacier. The 200 foot tall face of the glacier never ceases to amaze and confound me that something like it could actually exist. The fact that it is a...

Stranded Berg   My last week in Alaska was a big one, including hunting bears, northern lights, and a trip into Glacier Bay National Park. The schedule that I came up with for the week was a little rigorous, taking us to six glaciers over the course of two days to maximize our chance of seeing calving and for different glacier activities. We first woke up at the beautiful Margerie Glacier and the almost all black face of the Grand Pacific Glacier. Little chunks were falling off but the real calving show came from the huge Johns Hopkins Glacier were we went next. Walking Amongst the Ice Fun with the Polar Plunge Dan exploring Lamplugh Glacier   After the amazing calving experience at Johns Hopkins we headed off to Lamplugh Glacier for some good ol' fashioned polar plunge fun into the icy waters. Feeling alive and refreshed from the sub 40 degree water we filled up on lunch and then headed out for hikes, shorewalks, kayaks, and skiff tours around the glacier. ...