Our last day of the trip would be a ‘straightforward’ walk back down the Aletsch glacier, retracing our steps on Day 2. At least the weather was clearer to take in the fabulous views – and for me to show you what a glacier looks like, close up.
The Aletsch glacier is a ‘dry’ glacier in that it’s not covered in snow (in the summer anyway) so that you can see where the crevasses and holes are. Hence the reason we are not roped up below. On previous days, we had been on ‘wet’ glaciers where, as Des discovered, you can disappear down an unseen hole!
Even then though navigation is not that easy as the edges of the glacier tend to be all gnarled and bumpy, with lots of crevasses. More than once we had to retrace our steps to find our way through the maze to the middle. That’s where the glaciers coming in from each of the valleys above collide and create a relatively flat surface to walk on.
I hope you have all enjoyed this series of images and thanks for allowing me this little trip down memory lane. Picture 4 remains one of my all-time favourite photographs. 😊
Your photos are phenomenal, Mike! Photo #4 is amazing! I feel privileged in seeing these and knowing you, my friend, literally trekked these glaciers. I still say ‘extreme sporting’ lol, I could not even think about trying to do this. I’d be too scared, which is bad to think when traversing dangerous spots, you have to stay positive I am sure when doing this. What a helluva 6 days, WOWZA!
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Many thanks Donna. I’m really glad you enjoyed the trip. 😊 It’s not that extreme, I promise you. Though the guide’s face did look a little worried when I nearly didn’t make it across one of those gaps! I’ve not been on one since, as I prefer to go at my own pace, and I never did like the idea of fishing and watching a line most of the day. So, next up is the Tour des Muverans with my mate Pete… (after a test of my pictures).
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Thanks for your reply to my questions, Donna, (I couldn’t reply again to that reply as there seems to be a limit). I’m not sure what I did differently, between 1&2 and 6 to cause it. The WP Happiness Engineer(s) suggested it might be the email provider… (Classic deferral tactic!) We’ll see. 😊
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I cant lie, this experience scares the crap out of me! lol
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It wasn’t as scary as you might think. But you were ‘on edge’ a few times. 😉
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epic! no other words!
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😊
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