Day on the Ice

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So Debby, Justin & guy who I won’t name (who kept us awake with his snoring!) were up & off for their full day glacier hike before I’d had my first cup of tea of the day! Tea, chat to Mark & brunch before heading out to the landing pad for our helihike!!! After being given crampons, boots, socks, gloves & a jacket we had a brief safety briefing & clambered into the helicopter.

The flight over the glacier was amazing!!!! We had a brief tour up & around before landing in the ice next to a bare rock face called the Black Hole where we met our guide Turtle & Dean whose job for the day was to scout ahead for us! Then we got 2 hours of tramping over ice & across ice cold steams & pools, crawling and squeezing our way through holes in the ice & trying not to sink in up to our knees. The ice was razor sharp inmany places as my arms & knees bear witness! It was warm enough up there that I discarded both the waterproof & my fleece mirroring the guides in shorts & t-shirt.

The sky was a clear blue when we went up but towards the end of the hike the couds begam to move in & there was a point when we wondered what would happen if the helicopter didn’t make it! The first one to come up turned back as the following group’s hike had to be cancelled. The cloud made the ride back down more fun as the piolet hugged the mountainside most of the way down the valley! Got back in time to shower & grab a hot chocolate before the others returned & I cooked us all a hearty meal of bangers & mash!

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Photos

On edge
Those crampons were brilliant!!!

Ice cold pools
Which we were made to cross!