Le Conte Glacier, Frederick Sound, June 7, 2012: True Blue

Our First Glacier

We have never seen glaciers – and Alaska is all about the glaciers – and had no idea what to expect, but I can guarantee that nothing could have prepared us for the splendor and magnitude of our first encounter.  Le Conte Glacier is on the mainland, the southernmost active tidewater glacier in North America.  And it is blue, really, really blue - I have a new appreciation for  the term “ice blue.”

Color not Photo-Shopped

Seals Hanging Out

Scott,  a local guide, took us on this trip as Le Conte Bay is choked with icebergs which have “calved” off the glacier  and local knowledge is crucial to getting in and out.  He easily navigated his aluminum run-about through the bay, bouncing off the icebergs – some the size of a two story house - like bumper cars – only with the added thrill of crunching, grinding and scraping noises as we pushed and prodded our way through the bay to the glacier.  As an added nature bonus, seals and sea lions go into the bay to give birth so the iceberg “bits” were strewn with sea lions and their pups.  The eagles also make an appearance, hovering  over the area and  making off with the after-birth.

Ice Choked Bay with Glacier in Distance

There is fog, clouds, rain, drizzle, mist and showers for our afternoon viewing but Scott said the blue is sometimes most dramatic in those conditions as sunny skies can wash out the color.  I believe him – did we mention how blue it was?  Scott told us the color is from the ice being densely compacted and as the chunks fall off, oxidize and start to melt, they turn white going to clear. 

The glacier is many thousands of years old –according to guidebooks and legends - and so of course we did what all tourists visiting the glacier do, we plucked a glacier chunk from the bay and hauled it back to the boat to use in a glass of  20 year old scotch.  We were told it is valued for its slow melting rate.  Of course we don’t have 20-year old scotch on hand – we don’t have any scotch and further more, we don’t even drink scotch.  I guess I’ll  just use it in my two day old Pepsi.

Entering the Bay

Ice Blue