It is obviously a combination of
cold and snowfall. Crank enough of
either one up, and annual snowfall
turns into a “perennial ice field,”
and if that piles up enough, it
turns into a river of ice that starts
breaking things. Why are there
glaciers in Montana at 9,000’,
whereas there are none at 14,440’
at the highest point of Colorado?
Why is the largest glacier in the
American Rockies beneath 13,000’
peaks in the Wind River Range, but
relatively small ones beneath Grand
Teton, at the same height, and about
100 miles away?
I have often noted that flying a Cub
at such slow speeds is an exercise
in philosophy, if anything owing
to grand expanses of time to think.
Nonetheless, these curiosities
nagged at me in flight, and they still
nag at me now, so I get back in the
plane and try to figure things out. It
is a philosophical exercise of “what
if” to contemplate how different our
area would look if we changed a
few dials on the weather knob.
“Glaciers of the Rockies” is available on
Amazon.com.
Garrett Fisher is the author of seventeen
books, fifteen of which relate to aerial
photography. He blogs regularly about his
aviation adventures at www.garrettfisher.
me.
The project turned into my latest
book, “Glaciers of the Rockies.”
In an effort to spare others a
fanatical obsession to chase these
glaciers down on foot or by plane,
photographs of every remaining
named glacier in the US Rockies
are included, along with detailed
maps. Given that their great
distance, quantity, and difficulty
prevent most people from visiting
on the ground, I do strongly
encourage some research, if not
a grueling hike to some of the
enormous glaciers remaining in
the state of Wyoming. They are an
undiscovered piece of majesty. W L M
www.wyolifestyle.com
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