Have you ever seen a glacier in person? Which one is your favorite?
There is nothing quite as awe-inspiring as standing in front of a massive glacier. We first experienced this with our trip to Norway, and it still never fails to take my breath away. I won’t ever not be wow’d by these frozen behemoths.
The Perito Moreno glacier is one of the few rare glaciers in the world that is not actually receding due to global warming. Instead, new ice is being formed at about the same rate as it’s calving off the front.
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares is home to dozens of glaciers, fed by the third largest ice cap behind Antarctica and Greenland. It is one of the most beautiful parks we’ve seen in the world.
Upon entering the park, we spotted the large strip of white from a distance, and the road took us straight to it. Dedicated viewpoints along the way allowed for distant viewing, allowing our anticipation to grow (and one had this little bird watching over it).
We drove all the way down to the lake, where we could pick up the trailhead that led to the glacier overlook. What we didn’t realize is that this “trail” was really an elaborate network of metal boardwalks and stairs.
We reached the face of the glacier, and we climbed the stairs for a more lofty view… but the stairs kept going… and going… and going. When we felt we had reached the ideal elevation, we parked ourselves (sheltering from the wind as much as we could), took loads of pictures, and waited anxiously to hopefully catch a calving.
Massive cracks and booms teased us endlessly, none resulting in any action on the front side. Eventually, though, we noticed a few ripples in the lake right next to the ice. Then a few more as tiny pieces fell. Sure enough, a large slab was quick to follow, crashing into the water. It was no major calving, but it was large enough to capture and satisfy our anticipation.
Unlike our missed opportunity in Norway, we were determined to hike on this glacier… but we’ll save that for another post.
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