Hike the Franz Josef Glacier New Zealand

“And, since the sun never quite poked through the clouds to make the top layer of the glacier crunchy, the ice under our feet was about 20 different shades of whites and blues; glassy and beautiful. [...] It was pretty amazing to realize that we were not only hiking on a big chunk of ice that has been around in some form for thousands of years, but that this chunk of ice has the ability to change from day to day. It made me feel very, very small. [...] I had to remind myself over and over to pay attention to where I was planting my feet, because my eyes kept being drawn to the vast expanse of ice and the valley lying below us.”

“It’s hard to chose a favorite moment from exploring Franz Josef, but I think one thing I enjoyed the most was getting to climb down into an ice cave, National Geographic style. Ok, I’m guessing those explorers don’t already have a rope railing nailed in for them, but still. I waited to go last so I had the place to myself. Listening to the water dripping off the bright blue ice with the occasional creak and groan in the distance is not something I’ll soon forget.”

“Bundled up in matching gear, as soon as we got on the ice we strapped crampons to our thick boots. As someone who aspires to be a great mountaineer but who is afraid of the big mountains (making it an unlikely dream) I was excited to try out crampons for the first time in a moderately safe environment. [...] Reflecting back, I think my first impressions (obviously) were of the ice. Gray, white, blue, turquoise, all interspersed with marble swirls of silty brown and gray. To me, the ice seemed to change color every time a cloud passed by or we turned a corner. How can so many different shades exist for one thing?”