Snow & Ice

Coming from a hot Mediterranean country when I think about ice it`s usually in a glass with a nice cocktail but this week I learnt there`s much more to it! After ice skating for the first time during our last staff night out and enjoying every second of it, I was looking forward to the Snow & Ice Combo up on the Frunden glacier with some other staff members and our awesome guides Eoin (IE) and Darren(ZA).

 

Glaciers are pretty awesome things and here’s 10 facts about them:

1. They are persistent bodies of ice that form when snow and ice don’t melt and keep accumulating for centuries.
2. Glaciers are constantly moving downwards or flow like a frozen river.
3. The Taku Glacier in Alaska is the thickest glacier in the world; almost 1.5km thick!
4. Glacier melt comes from both the ice that’s melting at the top of the glacier due to the sun’s heat but also from the bottom due to the heat from friction caused by the flow.
5. As glaciers move they eat away at the surrounding rock to eventually form valleys that have a U shape like the Gasterntal!
6. Crevasses form due to differences in glacier velocity as parts move at different speeds and directions, forces cause two sections to break apart, opening the crack of a crevasse.
7. The fastest glacier moves between 20-30m a day!
8. Even the planet Mars has glaciers!
9. When walking on a glacier one has to be very careful to avoid going over snow bridges that might have formed over crevasses since these are unstable and one might fall through!
10. You should spend more time on glaciers because it’s great fun!

 

 

During our time on the glacier we learnt how to walk safely being tied to each other, using ice axes and crampons. Progress across a glacier is sometimes slow because one has to negotiate crevasse jumps and check if the ice is stable enough for people to walk on. We also simulated a crevasse rescue where we were lowered into a crevasse and the remaining team rigged up a system to lift the person back up to safety which is what would be done in a real life situation.

 

So now you know a bit more about glaciers and how awesome they are I ask you to do one simple thing to give them a hand! Always switch off the lights when you’re not using them because global warming is a glacier’s worst enemy as it causes accelerated melting! So go out there and save those glaciers!

 

See you on the ice!

 

Jean-Marc (MT)

STS Summer 2012