Foto: The view on Mount Cook (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
New Zealand - A thrilling day today. Would the glacier tour go ahead? When we wake up, it is cloudy. Yesterday, the weather forecast seemed better. We can call at nine o’clock to find out if the helicopter trip will take place. To be safe, we decide not to do a mountain hike in the morning. If the trip doesn’t go ahead, we can still go hiking later. The nine o’clock call gives only a partial answer. There will be flights this morning. That’s good news, but just to be sure, we must call again around noon. The weather in the mountains can change quickly. We are optimistic. We drive along Lake Pukaki toward Mount Cook Village. This time we enter the Tasman Valley. From the parking lot, the viewpoint over the Tasman glacier river is easy to reach. On the other side of the lake lies the Tasman glacier. The ice mass flows into the lake here. The entire underside of the glacier is covered with debris, stones, and boulders. That’s why the glacier is black instead of white with snow. How different the higher glaciers are on the mountain slopes of Mount Cook. The blue color of the glacier ice is clearly visible on the slopes. Large ice blocks float in the lake—chunks broken off the glacier. Once the ice melts, it flows along the Tasman river to Lake Pukaki. Because we are close to the airport, we decide not to call but to drive directly to the location. Here comes the good news: it’s happening! In the airport building, we get crampons fitted to our shoes. The process goes slowly. Especially the Chinese children do not understand the instructions. Fortunately, a couple from Taiwan translates for them. Finally, everyone has their gear and safety briefing. The group consists of 22 people, divided into four colors. The two helicopters first take the first two groups to the glacier. There they hike with one guide. Once the helicopters return, we follow in the second shift with a second guide. When the helicopter lands, I approach it carefully. The blades are still turning. It can take six passengers. Smaller passengers sit in front. We take seats in the back. Immediately after the door closes, the helicopter lifts off. We fly toward the mountains. Only when we approach the ridge do we realize how enormously tall the mountains are. The helicopter seems tiny. Below me, I see the Tasman glacier lake. I recognize the places where I walked this morning. We approach the glacier itself. The further we get, the more the glacier changes from black with debris to white with snow. We land in between. I quickly get out. Everyone must crouch as the pilot takes off again. A strong gust of wind passes over me. The second helicopter follows. Chris is the guide on the glacier and welcomes me. I strap the crampons onto my shoes. “Be careful,” Chris warns. While walking, you can hit your other foot with the metal spikes. He also warns to lift your feet higher. If you fall, the sharp ice can hurt badly. We set off. I follow Chris over the glacier. What a beautiful environment. Water flows everywhere through the ice—sometimes a little, sometimes a whole stream. There are also treacherous holes in the ice. Some contain water, others are meters deep. Walking on a glacier is not without danger, Chris says. The glacier moves fifty centimeters per day. This means the ice conditions change daily. Where I stand now, the ice mass is 400 meters thick—hard to imagine. Chris continues: The Tasman glacier is 24 kilometers long, one of the longest glaciers. It used to extend all the way to Mount Cook Village, but since the seventies, a lake has formed at the glacier’s base. The water in the lake speeds up the melting process. The glacier is expected to retreat several more kilometers before stabilizing. Chris signals to follow him. He enters a narrow crevice that leads into a tunnel. I walk under the glacier ice. The intense blue color of the compressed ice is clearly visible here. The tunnel opens into a hollow space. Everything here is also blue. It’s stunning. Via another passage, I follow Chris back to the exit. I estimate I walked about fifty meters beneath the ice. At the ice cave’s exit is a second opening over three meters wide. It’s remarkable that such tunnels form under the ice. Back on the glacier, we walk toward the whiter glacier section. The layer of stones cools and slows the glacier’s melting. The stone layer forms because New Zealand’s mountain range mainly consists of brittle rock. Other mountain ranges are made of much harder rock. Debris breaks off easily and falls onto the ice. After hiking around this special place for two hours, it’s time to be picked up by the helicopter again. The pilot flies a circle over the glacier. From the air, the huge snow mass on the surrounding mountain ranges is clearly visible.
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Queenstown
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