Fun on the Ice River | Fox Glacier Heli Hike

Hey guys!

Found some time to jot down my review of the Glacier Heli Hike I did last year around the middle of January, when the rain displaced our work as cherry pickers.

New Zealand is famous for its stunning glaciers, and most of them are on the mountainous belt of the South Island.

You may have heard of glaciers like Franz Josef Glacier, the Fox Glacier and the Tasman Glacier. But do you know how they were named?

A German geologist named a glacier Franz Josef, after an Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 1860s, and that name has stuck ever since. Fox Glacier took its name from New Zealand’s Premier, Sir William Fox. You may find both gorgeous glaciers on the West Coast of New Zealand.

Tasman Glacier – the largest glacier in New Zealand – lies on the opposite side of the mountain range to both glaciers, within the Aoraki/ Mt Cook region.

Fox Glacier moves at about 5 metres per day.

Antarticglaciers.org

Planning the Trip

After a week of idleness in the cherry orchard, which included waiting for the rain to clear, and the waterlogged roads to dry, we decided enough is enough!

No more waiting! Off we went to the West Coast for a short trip.

Our first stop from Cromwell was an overnight trip on the Copland track with natural hot pools. The drive there took us under three hours.

Next up: We drove north for about twenty minutes from the Copland carpark to the Fox Glacier village, where we cleaned up, enjoyed a proper meal, and rested for the night.

Before leaving for our trip, we made a last-minute booking with the Fox Glacier Guiding team for a discounted heli hike in the morning. A few other companies offer the same tours but their shop had a rewarding promo of NZD 100 off per person then.

Prepare to set aside about NZD 500 per person for a half-day activity. Other activities to consider include a full-day heli hike and ice climbing.

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Briefing and Heli Flight

We went through a weighing session, changed into the provided stiff leather boots and socks, and went for a safety briefing.

The team gave us a bag and a waterproof jacket, but I decided to go with my jacket. Blue on blue will never look better than red on blue.

We changed from bus to helicopter and flew over a forest, a river and landed on a particular spot on the glacier.

The flight across was fun as I was one of the lighter members of the team, and had the privilege to sit on the front row alongside another girl and the pilot – a woman in her late thirties. We had the best views for the whole flight.

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Trekking on Ice

We disembarked onto an area demarcated with plastic boxes tied onto the ice. 

Walking on the glacier is impossible without slipping, and that’s when the crampons and walking sticks in the boxes come in handy.

We adjusted the crampons to fit the boots, learnt to knot the long nylon string of the crampon around each boot, and gingerly took our first walk.

Two guides accompanied the team throughout the trip. But as the group was too big, had two kids in tow and was clumsy to manoeuvre around, they decided to split us up into two teams. We were grouped with the family with children.

Our guide chiselled the safest path with his ice axe, and we went hunting for gaps in the ice, a slight discolouration that’d indicate a hole underneath and ice caverns.

Caves or holes big enough for an adult to stand in are not common on the glacier.

We crawled into an ice tunnel, heard the trickling of a waterfall at the turn, and marvelled at an ice arch.

Then it was about time to head back.

But not before a small detour for a sip – or an entire bottle – of refreshingly cold glacier water, and more photo opportunities in a small valley on the glacier.

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Dirty Glacier?

The glacier I stepped on was not what I had expected. Shouldn’t glaciers be white or blue? What is the black dust on the ice?

Turns out the so-called dirty glacier I saw was a result of pollution.

Cryoconite

Dark particles – cryoconite – from mineral dust, soot, and incomplete combustion of fossil fuels scatter around the world and fall back as precipitation. They taint the pristine ice, even in the most remote places. Khumbu Glacier in Nepal, which Everest climbers have to pass through, contains black and brown particles too.

Cryonite is present on ice naturally, but the presence of black soot has increased over the years from human activities, making the ice and snow darker.

What’s worse is that the black soot depletes the ice’s reflective properties and promotes heat absorption. The result: ice and snow melt faster, further escalating the vicious cycle of global warming and climate change.

You can read more about this sad phenomenon here, here and here.

Sedimentation

Another article pointed out that the black stuff we see could be the sediments collected by the glacier as the top melts and the warm water flows down and refreezes at the bottom, thereby pushing the bottom layers up.

But I’m more inclined towards the first theory, as the later article was written in 2006 and the effects of global warming are even more omnipresent now than before.

It is sad to see the effect of pollution happening right before us, tainting the works of nature.

Do not miss a trip on the glacier while you are around the area. Marvel at its beauty before it is gone. 

And be reminded to do your part in lessening your impact on this planet, no matter how big or small your contribution may be.

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End of the Trip

We rounded up the trip back to the shop the same way we’d arrived before angry clouds descended.

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Tips

• Layer your clothes. You might feel warm after walking on an uneven surface for some time. But it’ll be cold again as you wait for the helicopter to arrive.
• Sunglasses. Ice reflects light.
• Brightly coloured jackets. Contrasting colours to the white-blue glacier.
• Bottles. Stay hydrated during the walk. Top up with glacier goodness.

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