Glacier hiking!

Franz Josef glacier....holy cow what a hike. We spent 45 minutes just getting to the glacier hiking through forest and a river bottom. That hike was beautiful. Once we reached the bottom of the glacier we hiked up a rock "hill" and I say hill with quotes because it was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done in my life. I know I am an exaggerator but this is no tale I am telling. My legs were on fire, my lungs hurt, and there were times I could hear my high school basketball coach in my head yelling at me to keep going. I still don't like her. At all.

I have to say it was totally worth it. We hiked for a few hours around the glacier and the blue and turquoise and white striations were beautiful! Unfortunately, my camera died at the top of the hill but I will be sure to grab some photos from students. We all filled our water bottles with fresh glacier water. It was spectacular! The group I went with had a great guide, Alex, who not only led us all over the lower part of the glacier but gave great information/history as well. This glacier is named Franz Josef after an ancient monarch by the man who discovered it. Back in the 1800s when they would give tours people wore their finest clothes to hike the glacier, tops and tails and full dresses. Now they recommend warm, waterproof, and crampons...the thingies you put on your shoes for grip.

Some fun facts about Franz Josef glacier: the lower portion moves down the mountain at a rate of 2 meters a day. The upper part moves at a rate of 4 meters per day. You could make a path and stairs one day for them to be gone the next. The boulders on the rock bed in front of the glacier have only been there about 4 months. The glacier the students hiked on last year looks nothing like the one we went on today. In the winter under heavy snow the glacier pushes down the mountain. In the summer with less snow, it recedes. At all times glaciers are under friction and compression creating huge peaks to form and deep crevasses that can be hundreds of feet deep.

After our hike I was waiting for a few students to take some pictures and Alex waited with me. We had a chat about how he got into this line of work and turns out he has a mechanical engineering degree but has always loved hiking. He will get a real job in the future but for now, he is enjoying being on the ice every day and skiing out of helicopters! I told him to hold off on the real job as long as possible :)

We also talked about the differences in higher education between here and the states. Alex told me he did 4 years of college focusing entirely on math, physics, and his specific area of mechanical engineering. They don't have general education here so they never take random art or music or history courses. Alex said his only "gen ed" was an English course focusing on writing. He is from the north island and hasn't been home in a year and a half and was very impressed with the study abroad program we have laid out for our group. Side note....Alex was also the love interest of at least 4 of the girls! I invited him to the hot pools later....we will see if he turns up lol.

Well it is chili time (Mark made dinner for tonight) so I will bid you all adieu.