Juneau Helicopter Glacier Trek

[DALSAL]

I HATE being cold (from the south,not use to it).I have booked a Helicopter/Glacier Trek that has a 2 hour walk on a glacier.Am I going to be uncomfortable the whole time? The 2 hr walk doesnt bother me,its the being cold part that does! Will be there on May 29th,2005.The excursion starts at 200pm.Anyone have any ideas on this?? Thanks for the help.

[Budget Queen]

Dress in layers, take a knit hat and gloves. Sometimes with the full sun out it can get quite warm so no way to predict the weather, (I did a trek and needed my jacket open) best advice- be prepared for anything. A small empty backpack can hold the stuff you peel off if needed.

[jrask]

We did this in Juneau and loved it! Northstar trekking provides outerwear and you'll want to dress in layers below. If memory serves, its about 10 degrees colder on the glacier than in town and there is a wind that comes over the glacier. For us, it was so hot that we only needed something to cut the wind so we were wearing t-shirts and jeans under the outerwear that was provided ... even then the jackets were open much of the time and the guides were just wearing light vests to block the wind. Whatever the situation, I'd definitely stick with the excursion and just dress appropriately.

[DALSAL]

Thank you BudgetQueen and jrask for your replies.Im looking forward to do this and will certainly take your welcomed advice! Thanks again,Dot

[DALSAL]

ok..I said the 2 hr trek doesnt bother me,but I went back to reread this excursion..and it says something about harness and helmets..I dont think the shorter walk mentions these ..is this a lot more difficult than the shorter "walk"? Is this terrain going to be difficult for someone that only walks on city sidewalks??

[jrask]

I'll describe the tour and you can decide whether it fits your ability level. In addition to outerwear, you will be outfitted with a helmet, an ice axe, a harness, plastic boots + crampons, in addition to outerwear. The ice axe will be used as a pick by your guides to make steps in certain places to make it easier to walk up. You will use it as a walking stick that can grab the ice. There will be times when you have to go up or down a fairly steep inclines ... say 45 degrees or so. To do this, you will need to kick your boots into the ice so that the crampons (spikes on front and bottom of boot) grab and can support you, you then lean and use the ice axe as a walking stick. They give you some training at the beginning of the trip and make sure you know how to do it. They also escort you 1-by-1 during anything even close to difficult so that they can be sure. As for the harness, I suppose it can be used for emergencies. Realistically, you use it to holster your ice axe for picture taking. You can also expect that they will use the harness to tie you to an ice screw that can support a lot of weight. This will allow you to lean over and look into a moulin (very deep hole with astounding blue color)...the guide will also have 2 hands on you and you aren't leaning very far over.

 

Because they see you through minor challenges 1-by-1, you will have substantial rest period before and after your turn. These are great to take pictures and will keep you from being tired. We were all a lot less tired than we would be from hiking in Denali and other locations. It was a blast and not rigorous or scary, but if you have limited mobility and are only comfortable walking on even leveled ground, this will require more.

 

The shorter walks stay on a more level playing field and don't require the equipment. They also don't get high or deep enough in to see the really amazing stuff or the blue at its deepest.

[DALSAL]

thank you so much for your prompt reply! I have rods in my lower back from major back surgery,but I dont have a lot of problems.I cant do a back bend..but am pretty active..its my sister in law that Im concerned with..she walks a lot,but shes kinda sissy! Im sure everyone else would think it fun,especially my hubby..I will discuss this and see if we need to change to a different...do you think the level 1 with NorthStar Trekking would be easier? Thanks..Dot

[jrask]

I saw the level 1 Northstar folks during our trek. They were these little dots that you look down on and seemed to stay on the relatively flat area near the helicopter landing site. You're still walking on ice, so it isn't like a sidewalk. The helicopter ride probably evokes more fear than the walking part. Northstar has pretty good pictures on its web site, so you can get a flavor that way. Of course the more exciting looking pictures will be on the trek & extended trek.

 

Hopefully my description alleviates most of the fear about the exertion level and can be used to convince her. As for the helmet, you know they'd never take the liability of letting you go without a helmet. If you can't convince her to go with you, consider splitting up and letting her choose an excursion that is more to her liking. Alaska is too expensive to not give everybody the excursions that they would most like to do and sometimes that means seperating. Far and away, the trek was the best excursion we did and we loved all of our excursions. People at dinner or who we randomly met during the land portion would discuss excursions and when we pulled out our digital pictures from the trek, they all just couldn't believe it.

[CSloan]

jrask -

Thanks for the info. We have reserved the level 2 in July. Sounds fun!!

 

Cathy