It was awesome getting up there. The glacier changes texture depending on how high up you are – color too. We went up to the top then came down along the mountain, with a quick hover and sharp turn over the gushing Victoria Falls that was dumping tons of water down the mountain. Then we came in for our landing…the heli pad on the glacier is basically some stones with an outline. When you got out, you had to head over to the “grey box” which hold the crampons for our boots. There was also a bag of walking sticks, but beside that and the people who were already there, there isn’t much but ice (packed snow actually) around for quite some ways. When the chopper lands and takes off, you have to crouch down, so you don’t slide away, and cover your face to avoid the flying ice chunks that get spit around when those blades are flying fast and furious.
The scale of the glacier is quite impressive. It was cold when we got up there and had to wait for another chopper to get its tour and land. I was glad for my newly acquired layers – and rainpants. Crouching down like that really hurts my bad knees, and with the rainpants, I could sit. Having a cold butt was better than sore knees.