Ice Art

I recently watched NatGeo’s Explorers Top 125 – Chasing Ice (only the last few parts) and again got reminded about how fragile our Ice and glacier systems are and that we are losing them at a fast rate due to Climate Change.

Now, to see pictures or videos (and be awed by the beauty of the ice world) is one thing, but to see it first hand is another. I felt fortunate to have seen so many of these natural ICE ART but thought that it’s a shame that we’ll lose them, that these may never be seen by our grandchildren’s children.

Let me dedicate these few trip pictures, for HOPE and awareness - that WE (individually and collectively) can actually (still) do something about the disappearing glaciers or melting ice.

1. Cho Oyu’s little glacier ‘peaks’ (Tibet). Though they look like stalagmites, these structures are made by glacier movement -- when the underground ice push itself down-slope, some misdirected ice is pushed upwards creating this nice little peaks. At least that’s my guess ;)

2. Karakoram’s icicles. This is one of the easiest to find among natural ‘ice art’, even on roofs or flowing rivers. Saw this one going down from Concordia (Karakoram). Para lang popsicles! :)



   3. Franz Josef’s Glaciers “Ice Holes”, New Zealand.   Glacier Caves (aka Ice Caves) are sometimes formed by flowing water (it gets bigger and bigger as the glacier ice melts), some are very unstable and dangerous.  At least for a short period of time – one has to go inside to really appreciate it.  Ibang feeling! J





4.     Wind-battered snowfield, Peak Bonete, Argentina.  This is a ‘crunchy’ ice field (‘hardened snow’) and at first I felt like I was destroying a rather nice work of art (the guilty-feeling was similar to stepping on a flower garden).  But out here, the snow is constant, and so is the wind that shapes this icefield.



      5.   Everest’s Khumbu glacier ‘peaks’.  Similar to those I’ve seen in Cho Oyu, pointed ice protrusions are all around the lower section of the Khumbu glacier (near Everest basecamp).  There are so much more 'sculptures' in the Khumbu Ice fall itself, nature never runs out of imagination.


I'll add 3 more pictures of interest:

 6. Everest’s Western Cwm – the ‘main glacier’ (camp1 area).  Layers of glacier ice accumulated for a thousand years are very visible. Similar to rock sedimentation – these layers can be studied to reveal atmospheric or geological condition during its formation.  Antarctic’s ice (deep ice core) has been climatologists’ major source of information - these ice layers act like ‘time capsules of climate data’.

    7.    Kilimanjaro’s disappearing glacier. Not due to climate change (but by current geological location and lack of enough precipitation) - it’s doomed to melt similar to Puncak Jaya’s (in Papua), and the same proven fate of Mt. Kinabalu).  Climb it while the ice is still there.  Same thing for the rest – travel or climb and see our ice before they melt!





8.  My Denali’s snowman, obviously man-made!  One can easily conclude, NATURAL ART is a lot BETTER and nicer!  Haha!  

HAPPY EARTH WEEK! :)