The Franz Joseph Glacier in New Zealand’s Southern Alps is the world’s steepest and fastest flowing glacier. We had a glacier hike booked with one of many, many tourist companies in the Franz Josef township offering treks, flights, helicopter rides etc. So, along with about 50 other people, we were kitted up, en masse with glacier boots, ice-talonz, raincoat, waterproof trousers, hats & gloves…. stuffed into a bus and driven to the glacier entry point. There, we were split into 4 teams and, because we didn’t want to be stuck with the kids or National Geographic old peoples tour, we opted for the ‘advanced’ group.
Once you realized that your crampons really did work and you were not going to go arse-over-teakettle, you could relax, but it wasn’t exactly exciting. The glacier guides use picks to cut steps into the ice (and occasionally their own shins) and there’s even rope hand-rails next to the crevasses (thanks to Health & Safety laws). But, it was still worth it and very interesting to see how the ice grinds the rock into powder as it moves down the mountain.The glacier has retreated since the 1890s mini ice age, but has been advancing again for the last few years. They had 70 metres of snowfall last season and the glacier was advancing down the mountain by 1 metre a day!
