Published on Dec, 2022
Not many new reviews or up to date info on the tour here so I feel compelled to give you all a heads up. Overall, this is a great trip and I’d highly recommend it to anyone up for the challenge. We went in Dec 2022, so my review is based around the summer months.
Things you’d thank yourself for having…good boots, good socks, light gloves (mostly for protection, not insulation) sunscreen, sunglasses, snacks, lunch and water. I wore some REI waterproof hiking pants with little to no insulation and a light Arc’teryx Atoms hoody jacket. Didn’t need the jacket until we got onto the glacier (mostly for wind, it was hot out).
You can fill up water on the glacier and at a waterfall, I would not rely solely on that. It’s a long day.
We did the big trek, full day experience. The round trip was 12 hrs from hotel pickup to drop off. Bring cash for the park entry, you can pay with card but you may slow down the entire group depending on the park entry line.
Once in the park, you view the glacier from a walkway for about an hour. This has the best bathroom of the day. Then you board a boat and head out for the hike. Best view of the glacier on the way in is on the right of the boat. Once you land you get your helmet and harness.
The hike is about 8 miles in total. My guess is about 3.5 of those miles is on land headed to and from the glacier. The glacier is not as easy to get to as years past, even more difficult since 2020. It is melting and the previous entry point for the big trek is no longer safe. The way to enter as of Dec 2022 felt just under 2 miles. This part of the hike is steep, there are stairs in many sections of the first half… you go up, then down, then up, then down again. This is not an easy hike, you need to be able to handle steep grade both up and down for long periods of time.
The last push onto the glacier is across steep loose rock, rock slides are possible here, this is most likely why you have a helmet. It’s not too bad, just take it easy and stay aware.
Once on the glacier you get help putting on the crampons and the glacier hike begins. The crampons used are generic and a little heavy. There are two guides per group on the glacier.
On the long trek, our guide took us pretty far out there to see multiple crevasses, rivers, ponds, etc. The views are phenomenal! We went through the middle of a crevasse, with both legs spread over the crack and our hands out against the wall, below us was a giant crack with ice water that went down in the abyss. It was pretty intense, but everyone did it with ease and we were all stoked to have done that.
The hike back takes you the same way through the mountain back. But don’t be fooled! It’s not over yet. There is then another ~.5miles to the “refuge” where you walk on a wooden walkway through the woods to a building with free tea and coffee.
You then take the boat back to the bus and the bus back to your hotel.
We started the hike at about 10:30am and finish at about 5pm.
If you don’t think you can physically handle 6-8hrs of hiking with reasonable rest periods for water, lunch, etc. then save yourself the stress and do the shorter glacier hike. You won’t see as many intense glacier features, but you can still walk on it.
Throughout the hike the guides will pressure you to stay tight to the group and keep pace for safety. If you cannot, they’d recommend you stop and will send someone out to return with you. Depending on the time, they may offer you the possibility of doing the shorter glacier walk instead of the long trek.
I believe anyone with moderate physical strength can do this hike. I do not regularly work out and I did this hike a few days after ~13 miles to see Fitz Roy. You will have to push yourself, but it is totally worth it and you will be proud of yourself for doing it, too. The experience is one of a kind and I strongly recommend this experience to anyone up for the adventure! You can do it!!!
*pic with red line shows where entrance used to be around 2018, you gotta hike about another mile to get to the new entrance
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