My Great Alaskan Adventure - Monday, June 30

We were up bright and early, though not quite as bright and early as the midnight sun (which I have concluded doesn’t ever really set). The weather was amazing – sunny and cloudless. We later found out that this was the first real sunny summer day! How lucky were we? :) The hour drive to Girdwood went by quickly as we (rather, me, coz my baby sis was passed out) got to see amazing, tear-inducing scenery along the way.

Pete, our guide at The Ascending Path, outfitted us with snow boots, cramp-ons, harnesses and a ski pole, and we were ready for Byron Glacier. We had a rather famous celebrity climber join us for part of our hike. David McGivern of Alaska Pacific University - famed for having been the first to explore several of the Alaskan glaciers. http://www.alaskapacific.edu/faculty_bios/index.php?fc=40 . Can’t believe he’s almost 60!! Amazing. I want to be that fit when I’m 60.

The hike up Byron Glacier was brutal - definitely more exhausting than the actual ice-climb. My mind was consumed - breathe breathe, don’t fall, don’t slow down, don’t think about burning aching thighs just think about how nice and tight your ass will be after this hike. Once we hit the glacier, our entire team (4 people, 2 guides) had to be roped together in a line. This was to make it easy to rescue anyone that fell into crevasses (fractures) along the glacier face. There are three rules to mountaineering:

1) Don’t be a jerk (pulling at the rope in front or at the back)
2) Don’t be a slacker (don’t walk too fast or the rope will slack, which will make teammates fall further than necessary if they hit a crevasse)
3) Don’t step on the rope (especially with cramp-ons, as that weakens the rope strength)

I managed three climbs up the 30-foot glacier face although I only made it to the top once. What can I say? I’m a wuss. My sis, as always, was quite the monkey and climbed up two different faces of the glacier. She even found a Moulin (a little hole in the glacier face), purely by accident. Basically, after that hike/ice-climb, we were practically dead to the world. Ravenously hungry, we trooped down to Maxine’s. Rude server, great appetizers, and so-so mains. The two memorable appetizers were sweet pea cream tortellini with truffle oil and roasted garlic soup with mushrooms (not just any mushrooms – exotic mushrooms).

That night, we checked into the Glacier View B&B, a decision that topped off my already amazing day. At the end of my night when I had taken a shower and dinner was done, I curled up in the living room with my books. I was partly planning my trip and all the time getting distracted by scenery outside - the Alyeska Glaciers illuminated by the midnight sun, soaking in the sunlight streaming through the amazing floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing in the perfumes from the jasmine flowers in the little indoor garden… just a little piece of heaven. :)