First glacier trip of 2018

[Low_Sky]

I took a road trip last weekend to revisit an ice cave I found last year. The mouth of the cave had changed a little since last year, but once inside it was much the same. The water flowing under the glacier was frozen much better than last year and I was able to get much further inside before hitting thin ice and open water. I didn't spend as much time inside as I had wanted due to other groups and a shortage of headlamp batteries (doh!), but I came out with a couple of decent shots.
C&C is always welcome. Thanks for looking!

1. A sunrise worth stopping for
a6500- by Low_Sky, on Flickr

2. Amphitheater Mountains in snow
a6500-2-5 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

3. Admiring sculptures carved in the dark. This was shot with a headlamp in total darkness, no daylight reaching back this far. 20s exposure, about 15s of light painting from me, and a couple seconds with the subject's headlamp turned on, then turned into a usable picture in LR. There is a big improvement over last year's shots (gear and processing skills improving).
a6500-2-2 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

4. The way out. This is an HDR merge from two exposures. I'm constantly amazed at what the sensor in my a6500 can do. Both shots looked dark with just a sliver of light at the end. Brought them into Lightroom and bam, usable picture.
a6500--2 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

 

[WesternGuy]

Very nice Low_Sky. Those shots in the ice cave (tunnel?) are neat. If there are any glaciologists at the U. of Alaska, I will bet they would be interested in the cave, if they don't already know about it. Would give some good insight into sub-glacial processes.

WesternGuy.

 

[Low_Sky]

Very nice Low_Sky. Those shots in the ice cave (tunnel?) are neat. If there are any glaciologists at the U. of Alaska, I will bet they would be interested in the cave, if they don't already know about it. Would give some good insight into sub-glacial processes.

WesternGuy.

It's not publicized, but does seem to be pretty widely known among Fairbanks area locals. I've been twice in two years and didn't have the place all to myself on either occasion.

 

[BrentC]

Beautiful shots! Especially #3

 

[SquarePeg]

Great set! I hope you post more from the cave. Any close ups of the walls?

 

[Low_Sky]

Great set! I hope you post more from the cave. Any close ups of the walls?

Thanks SquarePeg. I have one more that I might post if I can get happy with the processing. No detail shots of the ice. I got some last year that I was really happy with and didn’t want to spend what time I had on recreating the wheel. One of the two groups that came in after me had a dog with them and wasn’t being very smart about where it was safe to walk, so I packed up and left and pretty soon after they came in. 10 hours of driving for at most 30 minutes of cave time. You can see why I don’t go more often, haha.


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[fishing4sanity]

Beautiful set of photos! Thanks for sharing, because even if I was there I'd be waiting on the outside - where it doesn't cave in ..... yes I'm a chicken.

 

[SquarePeg]

Great set! I hope you post more from the cave. Any close ups of the walls?

Thanks SquarePeg. I have one more that I might post if I can get happy with the processing. No detail shots of the ice. I got some last year that I was really happy with and didn’t want to spend what time I had on recreating the wheel. One of the two groups that came in after me had a dog with them and wasn’t being very smart about where it was safe to walk, so I packed up and left and pretty soon after they came in. 10 hours of driving for at most 30 minutes of cave time. You can see why I don’t go more often, haha.


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Wow a 10 hour day trip is tough! Would love to see the close up photos from last trip. If you ever get around to posting them here please tag me.

 

[Low_Sky]

Because @SquarePeg asked so nicely, I dug out a few more.

1. From last weekend, unfrozen basal flow. Even in the dead of winter there is liquid water coming out from underneath glaciers.
a6500--3 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

Same glacier, last year (some of these have been posted here before):
2. Anyone else see the face?
a6500-5262 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

3.
a6500-5209 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

4.
a6500-5252 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

 

[Low_Sky]

And why not some ice from other glaciers?

1. You can find some beautiful stuff in the firn (the newest, top layer of ice, made of melted and re-frozen snow). Who knows how many years this leaf has been here?
Frozen Lace by Low_Sky, on Flickr

2. Crevasse
a6500-6505595 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

3. Gravel warmed by the sun, sinking into the firn.
Black Hole by Low_Sky, on Flickr

4. Ceracs, points created by intersecting crevasses.
a6500-6505149-2 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

5. Patterns in re-freezing drips
t3i-5298 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

6. Gravel and air bubbles trapped in basal ice
t3i-5107 by Low_Sky, on Flickr

 

[SquarePeg]

These are very cool photos! Thanks for sharing them. Alaska is fascinating!

 

[Low_Sky]

Beautiful set of photos! Thanks for sharing, because even if I was there I'd be waiting on the outside - where it doesn't cave in ..... yes I'm a chicken.

At this cave, the ice is about 40' thick at the entrance, and just gets thicker overhead the farther back you go. It's a medium sized valley glacier that terminates on very flat terrain, so the basal ice (the lowest layer) is very stable. Deep inside the cave is the safest place to be, at the entrance there is snow and rocks that could fall on you. It's also much warmer inside because the air temp is regulated by the thermal mass of the ice and ground. If you wanted to wait outside you'd be looking like Luke Skywalker on Hoth in no time!

 

[birdbonkers84]

These are amazing, very inspiring, can add Alaska to my growing list of places I want to photograph!