Franz Josef Glacier

Our motel in Franz Josef - it was great to park the car for 2 nights and walk everywhere (30kb) Our first look at the glacier (48kb) The meltwater for the glacier flows out of this stream and down the valley (87kb) Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, just down the road, are 2 of only 4 temperate glaciers in the world, where they run smack into a temperate zone (60kb)
After an hour long walk up the valley in our own boots, we changed into the heavy leather ones with ice crampons for the day on the glacier (20kb) Striking out with our ice axes (27kb) Looking back down the valley toward the sea (38kb) The route varies every day, depending on what is happening with the glacier (22kb)
We did some climbing through holes in the ice and ice caves (12kb) Can you tell that we all loved the day! (44kb) Joe was hacking ice everywhere, and climbing every thing he could (46kb) After a while, Sara joined in with her ice axe - I'm still surprised no one got hurt (47kb)
You can see the trees growing almost right to the glaciers - Patagonia has the other two temperate glaciers (55kb) To ice climb, you need two ice axes, and then you just attack the ice and make your way up (22kb) Looking back at the ice falls - helicopters fly all the way to the top up there (24kb) From the valley floor - all the rocks in the valley were brought here by the glacier, and the glacier extended half way up the valley walls at one point (40kb)
If there weren't any clouds here, you'd have a beautiful view of Mt Cook, the highest point in the South Pacific, from Lake Matheson (27kb) Heading down the coast the next morning, looking toward . . . Antarctica (45kb)