7 Tips For A Successful Glacier Hike

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Planning your first hike to a glacier? Having avoided being trapped on Matanuska Glacier on my visit to Anchorage, here are a few “survival” tips for a successful glacier hike.

1. Step on Shale

Get your boots dirty. Only step on the shale or black dirt aka moraine. Moraine is the debris that has been deposited by the glacier as it moves. 

Shale or black dirt indicates there is a solid surface under your feet.

2. Walk On Packed Ice

Be sure to walk on packed ice. When the ice is packed down you’re walking on a firm surface. 

3. Avoid Fresh Snow

You want to avoid fresh snow. While fresh powder is great on the mountain, it’s deadly on the glacier.  

Fresh powder without ice could be covering a crevasse.  And while beautiful to look at, you don’t want to fall into one.

Because there’s no way of knowing how far down the crevasse goes.

4. Hire a Guide

Pony up the money and hire a guide. You can easily become disoriented and go in circles. Believe me, I know!

If you’re traveling solo, you may want to consider hiring a guide. Or hike the glacier later in the morning when other people arrive so you can team up with another hiker or two.

5. Wear Hiking Boots or Sturdy Shoes

When hiking a glacier, you should wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes.

Leave the heels at home. Plan on getting wet and/or muddy. That beautiful ice has a bunch of nasty things under it.

A good sturdy pair of hiking boots like Merrell will keep your feet dry and protect your ankles.

6. Use Sunscreen

Put on sunscreen before you hike to avoid glacier burn. One of my favorite sunscreens is Bare Republic mineral sunscreen stick. If you only travel with a carry-on, it’s TSA-compliant.

A pair of Revo polarized sunglasses are also a necessity while glacier hiking. They’re also great for sandboarding.

You’ll also want to wear layers as it gets cold the closer you get to the seracs.  As with any hike, bring plenty of water in something like the Thermoflask dual insulated water bottle and a small mirrorless camera like the Sony ZV-1.

After all, where else can you drive to the trailhead of a glacier and then take a leisurely stroll and hike a free-flowing, active glacier?

7. Don’t Drink The Water

No matter how thirsty you are, don’t drink the water. Just because it’s clear doesn’t mean it’s clean.

While there is free flowing water through the glaciers, not all of it is clean or safe to drink. It can be contaminated and you could get sick from Giardia lamblia, microscopic parasites.

You can purify glacier water before drinking with a Lifestraw Personal Filter.

Hope you enjoyed my 7 tips for a successful glacier hike. Do you have any tips I didn’t mention?

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