Scaling Franz Joseph Glacier

#Franz_Joseph_Glacier

The Franz Joseph Glacier is approximately 7000 years ago and is a massive 12km (7.4 mile) long sheet of ice
 It meets the river valley below onto an ecosystem of a rainforest which is located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the South Island of New Zealand
In 1865 German explorer and geologist Julius von Haast named the ice flow plus area after (at the time) the Austrian Emperor 
 
 KeyTip:
  The village of Franz Joseph has a small population ( around 450) so book accommodations early as the area will swell up to 2500+ (adventure seeking) travelers like myself  per day.

Now depending on your budget or fitness level you have a few options to explore the glacier;
A) Aerial Sightseeing by helicopter of around 20 minutes with a snow landing for photos 
 B) A two hour walk to the terminal face of the ice sheet
C) Heli-Hike  that gives you the return helicopter ride plus a 2.5 hour hike on the upper parts of the glacier 
 D) Guided Ice Walk with a full briefing, plus with equipment that is needed for ice climbing

As you can see i opt for the Guided Ice Hike;

First there is the full instruction on safety at the Glacier Base Building, plus then the guide will equip you with all the gear needed

During our classroom session i noticed some of the folks here we not certainly dressed for the elements, but for an amusement ride as in; dress shoes, shirt/tie and even baby strollers 😏 
One of the guides noticed my concern, then came over and told me that the walk out to the glacier tells us who is going onto Franz Joseph.......phew! 

The history of crampons goes back to 1929 when Laurent Grivel made the brilliant invention of two front points allowing climbers to stand face up when scaling the steep ice and snow
 Which i certainly took advantage of on Franz Joseph

To the top (as far as safety will allows us to go) because of the crevasses, avalanches plus falling ice

Most glacier climbs only allows guided tours for those reasons as i have always told my friends
(some who think i am crazy for some of my adventures i have done around the world)
There is no sense me doing a risky journey if i am not around later to talk/blog about it later jajajja

    At first your cautious; but because Franz Joseph sits amidst a rainforest (the ice is considered soft) 

             so then after awhile your thinking like Spiderman 😄 so scaling with confidence.

 

Unfortunately due to climate change in the past ten years Franz Joseph has lost almost 1.6kms (1 mile) of its mass
 Estimates say by the year 2100 there will be probably no ice left in the head of the valley where the glacier sits now.

 Here are some options then to eliminate the carbon footprint in the area and to do our small part in the slowing down of the melt;

A) The Franz Joseph Glacier Walk; a short thirty minute return, plus it is without any steep climbs and has an observation deck 
 B) Fox Glacier South Side Trek; is a two hour roundtrip hike without difficulty plus also has great viewing areas
 C) Roberts Point Track; is a five hour out-and-back walk with an adventurous element to it.
 It has swing bridges, side streams and open areas of rock plus the viewing area platform that sits at 2000 feet above
This  gives you a view of the glacier, mountain peaks plus valley below
D) Alex Knob; is a eight hour there and back hike so for only experienced walkers, but well worth it for the views of the glacier, Sothern Alps and surrounding landscape
 E) Mount Fox Route; is for only the most advanced in hiking as its a tough climb to the summit during this eight hour return trek 

As i make my way through this crevasse you understand the meaning of the word (a long narrow opening in a glacier made by cracking) as i am living it by taking my baby steps through it 😅

There were two brothers from Australia who were crushed to death when hundreds of tons of ice fell on them because they walked beyond the warning signs
So again people; NATURE CAN KILL YOU, so respect the surroundings and listen to the guides who are here to show you how to enjoy the area safely

As i finish my latest adventure;
 I remind my readers that although the Franz Joseph landscape changes daily (mostly due because of the ongoing weather patterns which  influences its growth or retreat)
 plus
 add in with some of the hikes that go through ice tunnels or crevasses, the area is considered very safe

Fun Facts;
A) Lord of the Rings; This area was used for the filming of that movie
B) Maori Folklore; the name of the area was Ka Roimata which legend says was from when the Gods froze the tears of a grieving woman who had lost her lover
C) Franz Joseph; is only one of three glaciers in the world that descends into a temperate rainforest
So then lets add in the beach
 and you can experience all three in one day here on the South Island of New Zealand