Day 19: Franz Josef: Glacier Hike!
Today was one of the days we were looking forward to most this trip. We went this route on the south island, just so we could go to the Frans Josef glacier with the hopes of getting to hike on the glacier. Much research revealed one company that would take 8-year-olds (all others had a minimum age of 10). Between the time we booked it and the time and arrived in town they also upped their minimum age to 10 years old, so we were unsure that we could still do it.
The morning started with a hostel breakfast, but with pancakes that didn’t cook through it was a bit of a bust. Fortunately, we had plenty of food back in our room. Next up was a whopping 0.9 mile hike to see the Frans Josef Glacier viewpoint.
Unfortunately, the river recently changed course, so the track getting closer to the glacier was closed.
With the short hike complete, we headed back to the room for a quick PB&J lunch and then off to the helicopter place.
We went in yesterday to check whether Nicholas would be allowed to go on the glacier hike. They felt fine as long as the ice was soft enough and asked us to check back in today (soft ice is necessary so that people with low body weight can successfully dig their crampons into the ice). We were given the thumbs up today with the biggest concern being the clouds moving into the glacier area, which meant there was a small chance we would have to spend the night on the glacier. With this news, both boys’ eyes light up at the prospect of camping on a glacier–not what we were expecting.
The experience was absolutely incredible and truly a once in a lifetime (i.e. expensive) experience we will never forget. For weight and balance reasons, the boys and I were in one helicopter with the guide and another couple while Rob and the other half of our group of 10 went in the second helicopter. Flying so closely to the walls of the canyon was a bit heart pumping for me, but a highlight for the kids.
Once we landed on the tiny helicopter pad next to the glacier we got suited up in our harnesses, crampons, helmets and hiking poles. We all looked so offiical at this point. Walking in crampons took a little bit to get used to, but we all got the hang of it and trusted them to give us traction on the ice. We had familiarity with the harness and carabiner from climbing in Moab. There is a whole team that goes ahead of the tours to make sure there are steps in the ice and that the trails are safe before we head out. The pictures don’t do it justice, but we have tried to capture this breaktaking experience as best we could. Rob wore a GoPro the whole time so we have a 2 hour video of the whole thing that we can look back on for years to come.
Nicholas’ favorite part was the helicopter rides to and from the glacier. The carabiner were a bit hard for his small hands to operate, but he was a champ and our guide Sam took really good care of all of us. Cooper loved seeing the glacier and the helicopter ride. Rob loved the contrast of the transition from being in a hot tropical forest to on a glacier in just a 7 minute helicopter ride. A highlight for me was getting to step over the deep cravasses in the glacier and seeing the gorgeous blue/teal glacier color up-close.
We wrapped up the day with dinner out and then the boys played some more pool back at the hostel before our standard showers and Harry Potter family reading routine.
It was a good day.