Fox Glacier-Up Close

I found Fox Glacier to be fascinating. First of all, it's only about 20 km from the ocean. What a drastic change of landscape in such a short distanace! Secondly, it is surrounded by a rainforest. There are only two places in the world where this occurs-here in NZ and also one glacier in South America. It is one of the wettest places on New Zealand, so it is not surprising that it rained the whole day. It didn't stop us from having an absolutely amazing day on the glacier. Amy was so enthusiastic about the whole adventure, it was hard not to be excited with her. It started out with meeting our guide, a wee girl who didn't even look like she could lift an ice axe let alone climb a sheer wall of ice! But she proved to be a very capable leader. There were two other people in our group besides me and Amy. We hiked in the rain forest for about an hour, carrying all our gear, before we got to some level ice. Along the way we could hear the glacier "talking." The creaking of the ice and then a thunderous crack when a huge slab broke away and crashed to the bottom. I didn't want to think about the ice moving when we were actually walking on it. According to our guide, the glacier can move up to a meter a day!
We geared up with rain proof jackets and pants, rope, helmets, and ice axes, and then strapped on our heavy duty crampons. It's quite a chore trying to walk on the ice with crampons. Because they can snag on your pant legs and cause tripping, which would not be ideal on a glacier, you have to learn to walk with your legs further apart. In order to grip the ice with the crampons, I had to stomp with each step. I felt like a monster stomping around up there!
We first practiced kicking our toes into the wall of ice and walking sideways just a few feet above the level ice. Once this was mastered we hooked up to our ropes and did our first vertical climb, with our guide balaying us. Eventually I got to balay Amy and visa versa. By the end of the day, we were climbing 18-20 foot walls of ice. In between climbs, Amy and I would stop for a bit of warm tea that we brought in a thermos. We were so thankful for that little bit of warmth. By our last climb we were soaked through all our layers of clothes. Because it had rained all day, the rivers on our way back down were much stronger and more difficult to cross. By the time we got to the bottom and rode the bus back into Fox Glacier Town, Amy and I were both knackered. Thankfully, we had thought ahead, and booked our next night at the Fox Glacier Inn. We were never so grateful for a hot shower.