There were all sorts of arches Gerard told us about, but since I wasn’t taking notes I can’t remember all the different types. There were compression arches – that I remember. Most of the caves we went through we those, I think. There was another type – the name of which I can’t recall. And I think this was called a sun arch, made – I know you’re all going to be very surprised – by the sun melting through the ice.
The guides had the job of “maintaining” some of the these things. That actually meant hacking ice off of some of these caves and arches as the group went by, with the giant ice pick they also used to make steps for us to walk on. That’s how they keep things from falling apart on top of unsuspecting tourists. Tried to get a good photo of Gerard hacking away at the ice, but the sky got so bright I couldn’t really see anything on the back of the shiny little camera viewing screen, so I didn’t pull it off. Sorry ladies. I was extraordinarily thankful to Karsten as the day went on – without the sunglasses it would have been really tough to handle the glare off the ice. And you definitely needed sunscreen and chapstick up there. It got really, really hot – wanted to peel off another layer, but really couldn’t because my under layer was almost a tank – and it wasn’t that warm. But I was dripping with sweat as I headed down the hill back towards the makeshift helipad. Not sure if I told you, but it’s basically a few rocks outlining a relatively flat place the helicopter can land on.