We decided to winter camp in the Alaska range this weekend, taking advantage of the long spring days and warmer temperatures to go on an extended trek. There was no decided destination beforehand. We had only decided the general area that we wanted to explore, and that we needed to avoid going too far south towards Gulkana glacier because of the Arctic Man competition (Sturgis for snow machiners). Castner glacier became our serendipitous destination of choice, and what a good decision that turned out to be! We hit the trail at ~4:30 pm, ready to camp on the glacier!
The foot of the glacial moraine
We arrived at the first ice cave in the moraine. It was very large and we were easily able to pull our sled through.
The wall of the glacier was bristling with icicles. You wouldn't want to stand under them for too long. I saw a really big chunk let loose!
A frozen waterfall inside the ice cave
There were many tunnels bringing light in from the outside, which was good because it made it possible to navigate in the glacier.
We hiked out from the cave and continued onwards and upwards
We found a rabbit-hole… that you wouldn't want to go down because you probably wouldn't be able to get back!
From our campsite, looking up the glacier. Far in the distance is the confluence.
There was a funny, pointy moraine pile along our path!
A rock ptarmigan came walking outside our camping spot.
The next day was mostly cloudy, with the occasional patch of blue sky. It was warm while we were out there (~32 degF) which made camping comfortable.
We dug our campsite into the snow and also built a snow wall to keep out the wind.
The next morning, we hiked in the moraine and snaked around all the cool ice-wall features. It was tough going, but we found some beautiful walls!
We found another cave, and this one was tight and twisting.
There were giant ice crystals on the ceiling in this small cavern
It's like standing in the mouth of an angler fish.
The icicles are not without their hazards...
The ice looks like marble, or jade
We have been told by long-time locals to the Interior that the outlet of the glacier moves frequently. A feature like this ice cave may completely melt out by the end of the summer, and new caves may form next winter in different places. We heard that this cave is new this year!
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