Juneau et le glacier Taku

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(Map of Juneau Icefields with Taku Glacier indicated by green arrow.)

Our last stop was Juneau, and it turned out we’d saved our best excursion for last: a helicopter ride to the Taku Glacier. The sky was overcast but fortunately not socked in as we took off, and we were treated to absolutely amazing views.

We toured around the area for about fifteen minutes before heading to the glacier. Having never been on a helicopter before, I was amazed at how smooth and relatively quiet the ride was. On the way to the glacier, my son and I rode shotgun up front with the pilot, allowing for some amazing picture taking.

Soon the glacier was in sight…

Coming in for a landing…

We landed on a smooth spot near this crevasse. Before we left the helicopter, we were warned that these crevasses can be hundreds of feet deep, and it’s best to stay far away from the edges. We were told to go to the top of the crevasse and view it from that angle.

This picture below gives a better perspective of the size of the crevasse.

This is a “moulin” (French for “mill”) a narrow chute that funnels water from the surface of the glacier. They can also be as deep as the glacier is thick.

The Taku glacier is the only advancing glacier in the Juneau Icefields. It advances at the rate of three feet per day, though loses two of those to calving where it ends at the river, for a net advance of about a foot a day. It is something like 27 miles long, and is the largest glacier in the Juneau Icefields.

I’ve decided that for my next career I’m going to be a helicopter pilot. It was SO much fun!!

After our glacial adventure, I met up with mon mari (who hates to fly and passed on our aerial fun) for a fabulous lunch of cedar plank salmon and Alaskan microbrew beer at the Taku Smokeries. We also bought some yummy cold-smoked salmon that they shipped to arrive a few days after we got home. So we still have a little bit of Alaksa in the fridge.
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5 Comments

  1. Oh my! Beautiful! Must have been so much more stunning in person.

    I’ve never been in a helicopter. I’m suprised to hear it was quiet.

    My brother in law lived up there for 7 yrs and I’m kicking myself for never visiting him while he was there.