The Matanuska Glacier Tour | MUST DO in Alaska [S1-E31]

there is a place in Alaska that must be on every  traveler's bucket list a place where Adventure   nature science and a little bit of risk all weave  together into a once in a-lifetime experience that   was one of the coolest things I have ever  done this is matusa Glacier as we've never   seen it before we're taking the tour to walk  on and into the glacier itself learning from   our guide and witnessing extraordinary natural  features along the way this is one of those few   Alaskan tours that operate year round and we're  taking you with us to learn all about [Music] it   come see what it's like to venture inside a  glacier experience Natural History literally   at your fingertips and leave in awe of one of  planet Earth's most powerful forces [Music] today we are finally going to tour mathusa  Glacier and touch the ice itself excitement is   an understatement the Journey Begins at a quaint  Airbnb 10 minutes up the road from the glacier   there's nothing like coing up in a log cabin  surrounded by deep snow and rugged mountains   there's also nothing like driving Alaskan highways  in the winter this is the Glenn Highway one of our   favorite roads in all of Alaska it snakes  along the edge of the matusa valley which   was itself carved by the glacier that shares  its name matusa is America's largest glacier   accessible by car there are two ways to do the  glacier tour you can drive yourself there or   you can go with a shuttle tour from Anchorage  the drive from Anchorage to the glacier is 2   hours and Inc incredibly Scenic if winter  driving makes you nervous the shuttle tour   is the way to go and even if it's summer it's  nice to just sit back and enjoy the scenery the   drive to the glacier is an experience in and of  itself especially in the winter if you elect to   drive to the glacier yourself definitely opt in  for studded snow tires you're about to see why back up don't I'm behind the car okay on [Music] right there was a good case in point  for going with the shuttle tour even   with our good snow tires we got  stuck that's the shuttle there   if you want their info we have a link  to their tour in the video description below you these are called micros spikes they are  super important for traction when walking   on ice these are a must for visiting  wintertime Alaska kindly the company   provides them for tour goers Nick will be  right up here thank you [Music] [Applause] yes the end of a glacier is called a Terminus or  toe the toe of matusa Glacier is about a half mile   from the warming Hut so to maximize our time  at the glacier we get a modern-day sleigh ride if you do this tour in the summertime you  will actually hike from here to the tow   of the glacier with your guide the hike  is 2 mil round trip and it takes about   2 to 3 hours to complete including your  time on the glacier itself and off we go so let's Orient ourselves here first of all  where in Alaska are we here is the great state   of Alaska and here is mnusa Glacier it is an  astounding 24 M long and averages 2 mi wide it   begins high up in the chugat mountains  at an elevation of just over 13,000 ft   gravity pulls the glacier downhill until  its Terminus at 00 ft that's where we are [Music] now by the way in Alaska these are called  snow machines not snowmobiles it took a   little getting used to for this Wisconsin girl  and Nicaraguan boy but now it's part of our lingo right now we're on the Matt e river and uh  underneath us there's 50 million gallons of water   an hour flowing which means there's cracks all  over underneath this snow that we can't see that's   why it's so important to stay on the trail if  you go off the trail go into this fresh snow and   you fall through the ice and the water takes you  that way I can't come get you okay it's just that   simple so on the trail is the most important thing  you heard him on this tour the most important   thing is listening to your guide and staying on  the trail during the summertime when all this ice   is melting it drills down sometimes underneath  the glacier and it makes these tunnels like we   have here this is called a Mulan a Mulan is just  a hole in the ice it's an ice cave right it's a   hole in the ice made by water in the summer this  thing was carved out over the course of last fall   and it'll collapse probably early to Midsummer  Jeffrey did you feel it do you notice how it does   it doesn't leave you feeling wet your  hands are dry your hands are dry cool we   are joined in this adventure by Family Jose's  cousin Jeffrey is here all the way from North Carolina you ready go J make sure you're just standing right   here towards the end of this G  let's not move too far okay my turn I'm both you right [Music] now there we go wooo I survived me to take that for you thank  you appreciate it Mulan means Mill in French this   name speaks to the power of meltwater and its role  in not only the internal structure of a glacier   but also its movement more on that in a bit this  is aass aass is just a crack in the ice made by   pressure a lot of times Cass come together like  that when you go down into one of these things you   get stuck there and your body heat takes you down  deeper until you can't breathe about 15 minutes   that's all it takes so make sure you're staying  right on the trail that's really important if you   didn't catch that our guide was explaining that  there are crevasses hidden under the snow that we   can't see what is a crass you might ask these are  crevasses large fractures in the upper region of a   glacier caused by the stress of its movement and  how does a glacier move how does solid ice flow   like a river glaciers form when large amounts  of snow fall high in the mountain mountains in   What's called the accumulation Zone over time  all that snow compresses into ice ice may be   solid but under enough pressure movement will  occur within and between individual ice crystals   causing the ice to behave more like a plastic  than a rigid solid it deforms instead of breaks   this is called creep ice Creeps in response  to stress but if it cannot creep fast enough   to cope with all that stress it fractures we see  this brittle failure as crevasses on the glacier [Music] surface internal deformation is the  term used to describe the combination of   creep and falting internal deformation is  the one common way all glaciers flow down   slope there are two other mechanisms that cause  glaciers to flow and we will come back to that   but now let's return to our surreal walk  among the crevasses of Matanuska Glacier [Music] oh it's in the shape of a heart that's [Music] adorable a so hard to capture footage of places like this  you know you do your very best but there's nothing   the same as actually being here it's one of  the things we struggle with with creating   videos trying to communicate these things that  are hard to communicate with just footage it's   really special we now come out onto an open  area that in the summertime is a deep lake   it is a special treat for us winter goers to  make it to this vantage point for standing   here gives the unmistakable impression of  being surrounded by an Amphitheater of ice   we really are only seeing like a third of  the ice here there's like uh 2/3 of it is   below and going down and uh there's just you  know it's like they say the tip of the iceberg   there's a lot more going on here than we can  even see these Jagged mountain-like blocks   of ice are called SRA they often form  where two or more crevasses intersect   one another creating large blocks that stand  tall in truth they are awe inspiring to look [Music] at now if only we could climb up there and  see what it's like to stand right next to them matusa Flows at a rate of 1T per  day the ice we are walking on now fell   as snow hundreds of years ago high in  the chugat mountains it's fascinating   to think about as we climb up into a maze of  srax they Tower overhead like sculptures and   really that's what they are the warmer months  we'll see these structures melt into even more   bizarre shapes collapsing shifting and  changing as the glacier grinds forward   in a constant battle between growth and melt  matusa Glacier May progress forward 365 ft   per year but it loses 396 feet due to melt so  overall the toe loses 30 feet of ground every year this tour is about 2 hours long we're only a   half an hour in and already our minds  are blown if only we knew what lies ahead nice we love that the tour groups are small  so there's plenty of time to talk and ask   our guide questions there are private tours  for those who want even more one-on-one time [Music] though and hey quick note in Alaska it's   customary to tip your guide at least 20  bucks per person so don't forget that what do you think so smooth  yeah it's really [Music] cool every now and then we are reminded  that we are walking over hundreds of feet   of ice and that in a very real way we are just  seeing the tip of the iceberg you may Wonder   what could possibly cause enough snowfall to  fuel such a massive amount of ice matusa is   born deep in the chugat mountains which stand  like a massive wall between the Pacific Ocean   and interior Alaska moisture Laden storms  off the Pacific hit these mountains and   unload some of the highest snowfall rates in  the world that is why we see such colossal   rivers of ice snaking out of this range  and one of the most prominent is matusa now as a bit of a geology nerd I've  been expecting SX and crevasses and   all things Glacier on this tour there's  one thing I'm not expecting oh my God you got not you you did   you know it's funny that's that's good it's  it's on film it's going into YouTube video [Music] man if we were walking this same path 20 years  ago we would actually have ice above our heads   this is one of one of the most important  things to understand about matusa Glacier   it has lost quite a bit of ice but it hasn't  necessarily been in dramatic Retreat of the   toe like exit Glacier or valdis Glacier  check out episodes 21 and 24 if you want   to learn more about those cases in this  case matusa has lost a lot of vertical ground the lower section of the  glacier used to be thicker than   it is today reaching higher up the  sides of the mountains like the dra   of a bathtub the surface of the lower Glacier  is now losing ice at a rate of about 1T per year so there was a cold snap this winter  in Seward we got about -10 here the guide   said that they got about 50 and not just  that there were 70 mph winds coming out   out of the Chach mountains which  I can't even imagine 50 below 70 m   hour winds no not for me that's that's  beyond that's beyond me no way Jose [Music] [Music]   it's a glacial traffic jam [Music] y now we are about to witness a glacial feature  that we never expected to see and honestly   has me giddy fans of this series get ready  for an aha moment as we look up at these   SS I want you to take special note of the  light milky blue color of this ice have you   noticed that sometimes the ice looks clean and  sometimes it looks dirty we're about to find out why now this for me is like meeting rockar of  the geology World throughout season 1 we've   talked about why glacially fed rivers and lakes  have a Milky baby blue color you may think aha   it's because of this ice no it's because of this  ice this is basil ice as in ice from the base of   the glacier and it is packed with sediments as  glaciers flow downhill they act like a giant   Mill picking up and pulverizing rock along the  way some rock is ground up so fine we call it   Rock flower when it melts out of the glacier and  enters Downstream rivers and lakes the particles   remain suspended in the water absorbing the  shortest wavelengths of light the water absorbs   the longer wavelengths leaving only blues and  greens to be perceived by our eyes this is a   really awesome example of glacial Rock flower in  the making check that out that is so cool here   we are seeing with our own eyes how Rock flower  is made basil ice is mesmerizing to look at not   only is it just physically beautiful it shows us  in Vivid detail how ice flows rather than breaks   under pressure personally I could spend all day  marveling at this ice imagining its life at the   base of the glacier squeezing bending twisting  along under insurmountable pressure in a slow   motion slide over the underlying bedrock  and that brings us back to the question of   how glaciers move as you'll remember all glaciers  flow via internal deformation some also flow via   basil sliding as the glacier slides over the  underlying bedrock lubricated by Rock flower   Rich meltwater some glaciers also flow via  subglacial deformation where the sediments   below the glacier deform and flow as well acting  almost as a conveyor belt for the overlying ice   again all glaciers flow via internal deformation  some may also flow via basil sliding or subglacial   deformation and some may exhibit all three  mechanisms often resulting in fast Ice Flow wow well for the geology nerds that was a slam   dunk but the tour now has a special  treat for the adventure junkies and us we have been through ice caves on this  tour but never anything this tight wait for it knowing how glaciers move and shift  this makes me a little nervous many   in our group choose to skip this part alt  together because it is unnerving it's also a rush that's pretty cool that was one of the coolest things I have ever done the tour is almost done but there are just  a few treats left in store it seems they planned   this Trail so that the tour goes out with a bang  so far we have been walking unpacked snow but see   that streak of blue down there that is smooth bare  ice part of the lake and river that flows off the   glacier in the summer as a special treat for us  winter goers we get to go out on it that is super cool fast get low and slide use your  hands don't like belly do it [Applause] [Applause] our guide makes sure we don't get  too close because as you can see a   piece of this block could break away at any moment [Music] [Applause] [Music] a holy cow fell last night last night  probably maybe today it wasn't here   yesterday at 4:00 woo [Applause]  wow he said you said this wasn't   here yesterday at 4 so this happened  last night or sometime today that's crazy glaciers man you don't mess with them  CU I say that as I walk over an air bubble wow   holy cow it's a parting gift from the glacier  just a little symbolic reminder that while we may   not perceive its motion this is a dynamic active  part of the landscape that we are lucky to visit well we can firmly say that if you are ever  in Alaska in the winter come to see matusa   Glacier and if you're here in the summer  come to see matusa Glacier and if you're   here any season they do this year round  to come out here you have to come out   here this is pretty spectacular experience  and not a lot of places around the world   you can actually do something like this  so counting blessings over here today [Music]   we head back to the warming Hut again  pinching ourselves that we just had this   experience planet Earth is filled with  wonders and Glaciers are certainly one   of them they shap the land store fresh water  and teach us about the past as our parting   gift to you would you like to see what  matusa looks like in the warmer seasons [Music] [Music] and speaking of Seasons fast forward one  month and we are cranking on our Bobby bus oh there it goes there it goes  there it goes he's out he's out okay even though snow is still on the ground  the change of season is all around us and we   are hitting the road to take you on just a  few more Alaskan Adventures before we begin   the long journey to our Tina as the world begins  to wake up all around us this seems the fitting   moment to finally share a song that has been  a long time in the works filmed across 2 years   two countries and Four Seasons we cannot wait to  share this tune with you next time on Art We There Yet hey guys if you enjoy this video  be sure to give us a like subscribe to   our Channel send us a comment below and  for exclusive content and a behind the   scenes view of the art We There Yet Journey  join us on patreon see you over on patreon

Channel: Art We There Yet?

Views: 4,333

Keywords: art we there yet, matanuska glacier, matanuska glacier alaska, matanuska glacier tour, matanuska glacier hike, exploring the matanuska glacier, hiking matanuska glacier, walking on the matanuska glacier, matanuska glacier summer tour, matanuska glacier winter tour, alaska, glacier tour, alaska top things to do, matanuska, matanuska glacier hike tour, visit matanuska glacier, glaciers in alaska, things to do in alaska, what to do in alaska, alaska travel, matanuska guided tour

Id: kfQLY74bud4

Length: 27min 42sec (1662 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 16 2024