Ice, Ice, Baby – Glacier Hiking in Alaska
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
I smiled as I dug my crampons forcefully into the ice underfoot. I'd forgot how satisfying that sound and sensation were — maybe even better than crunching through fallen leaves in autumn. Certainly better than the sound of ordinary hiking boots on packed earth.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Yes, there's something very special about hiking on ice with metal spikes attached to your feet. Mostly because the scenery usually looks like this:
Alaska's Matanuska Glacier was not my first glacier hike (last year, I climbed on the Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand). But I'm now convinced that glacier trekking is like bungy jumping: it doesn't matter how many times you do it — it's still guaranteed to be amazing.
The morning of this particular glacier hike could not have been more perfect. It was cool and clear — ideal for some outdoor exertion.
A group of us set off early from Anchorage, bound for the Sutton area and the Matanuska Glacier. The 2-hour bus ride provided us with countless postcard-perfect mountain scenes, getting us pumped up for our adventure.
We arrived at MICA Guides, paid a special access fee for the glacier (it's located on private land), and collected all the gear we'd need for the hike. This included boots, crampons, and helmets — all the safety essentials. Thankfully, this hike would not require rain gear; only sunglasses!
Our large group split into 3 smaller ones, with 6 of us joining a guide named Alyssa. It's possible to hike out onto the glacier without a guide (and gear, for that matter), however I wouldn't recommend it. Alyssa not only knew the safest ways to cross the ever-shifting ice, but she was also knowledgable about everything from the history of the glacier to the region's geology.
That, and she knew how to use an ice axe to carve out stairs for us.
It's difficult to describe just how awesome glacier trekking is in words. It's nearly impossible to capture the wonder and awe that accompany crunching up alongside hundred-foot ice falls and crawling into blue-white ice caves. I simply can't put it all into sentences that would do the experience justice.
So, instead, I'll show you.
Glacier Trekking
Hiking on a glacier is epic. There's no other word to describe it. If you haven't ever tried it, I highly recommend you consider it. The glaciers won't be around forever (in fact, some are receding so fast that you can't touch them anymore), so there's no better time than now.
This is what the on-ice experience looks like:
Ice, Ice, Baby
And, of course, glacier trekking wouldn't be possible without the key ingredient: ICE. Tons and tons of ice.
The Matanuska Glacier has a lot of ice. The glacier is 27 miles long and 4 miles wide, and consists of some incredibly cool ice formations. These formations change daily (literally, the ice is in constant motion), but here were some of my favorites:
As much as I loved trekking the Franz Josef Glacier last year, I think the Matanuska Glacier may take the award for “coolest glacier hike I've done.” The climb was slightly less challenging than in New Zealand, the weather was far better, and the ice formations (especially that huge ice fall!) were much more awe-inspiring.
Two hours on the ice wasn't anywhere close to enough.
IF YOU GO…
Hiking on the Matanuska Glacier is fairly accessible – you can book a tour from Anchorage, Alaska pretty easily.
Which ice photo is your favorite? Does this post make YOU want to hike on a glacier?
Pin it for later:
*Note: My trip to Alaska (including this awesome glacier trek) was sponsored by the Hilton Garden Inn Anchorage. All opinions, however, are entirely my own.
Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. She has traveled to more than 60 countries on 6 continents from her home base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel through the US, Europe, and rest of the world. Amanda only shares tips based on her personal experiences and places she's actually traveled!
Palmer is a must adventure to do while in Alaska, we get a helicopter to the top of a glacier and had a nice time there.
Really worthy to visit.
Your photos are beautiful and we love the sounds effects of hiking with crampons too! Looks like a wonderful summer adventure, but would you ever consider giving Alaska a try in the winter?
I’ve been to Iceland, Norway, and Canada in the winter, so why not Alaska??
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Such a beautiful day!
I too have hiked down in NZ (Fox) and when I was in Alaska, another girl in my group had done Franz, so she was skeptical about hiking again in Alaska. I went on the first day we were in Wrangell–St. Elias and hiked the Root Glacier and when I got back to camp, I told her, “No, if you haven’t hiked one glacier, you haven’t hiked them all”.
Love it!
It’s so true! I skipped hiking a glacier in Iceland because I’d already done it in New Zealand. But I don’t think I’ll ever pass up the opportunity again – I loved it just as much (if not more!) the second time around!
So, so beautiful! My dream trip is to circumnavigate the globe north of 60 – pictures like these only add to the attraction.
Wow, that sounds like an amazing dream trip! No doubt you’d see lots of scenes like these.
To answer your question – your post makes me wanna jump out of my flat, into a plane and onto the nearest glacier I can find!
Seeing a glacier up-close had been on my Bucket’s List for a long time, before I finally set foot on the Icelandic Snæfellsjökull last August, followed by a “proper” hike on Vatnajökull. However, I want more!
And seeing how trekking out in the wild in Alaska is one of the other BL points, it seems perfect to combine the two and let myself be inspired by your experience.
Beautiful pictures, too!
Next time I’m in Iceland (because I’m convinced there WILL be a next time!), I’ll definitely have to do a glacier hike there, too!
Those photos are really beautiful! Looks like you had a great time 🙂
We had such a fantastic time. I would definitely love to do it again!