The Hubbard Glacier

The Hubbard Glacier is one of the biggest glaciers in Alaska, stretching 122km inland all the way to Yukon, Canada. The glacier meets the ocean in Disenchantment Bay, which has become a popular stop for visiting cruise ships. Depending on how cold it is and how much the glacier is calving, cruise ships are able to come quite close. This really gives you a feeling of how massive this glacier really is!

The Hubbard Glacier

The Hubbard Glacier

We went to the Hubbard Glacier on two different days, with one day in between and it was two completely different experiences.  On the first day there were light clouds and it was warm on deck and you could feel a little cold radiating off the glacier itself. We could hear a lot of movements further up the glacier, with noises that almost sound like thunder. Each time you could see everyone desperately looking for ice breaking off the glacier. We did see a little calving, or rather the splashes as the ice hit the water. There was also one big piece of ice that looked like it would fall in the water but it didn’t  when we were there. Sailing away from the glacier we passed big chunks of ice both in the water and on the beaches, and they made the most incredible sounds, it almost sounded like rice crispy cereal when they are mixed with milk!

The Hubbard Glacier

The Hubbard Glacier

The second day came with thicker rain heavy clouds and colder temperatures. This resulted in less chance of calving which meant we could sail closer to the glacier. You could really feel the cold coming off the glacier, not to mention getting an even better impression of how huge the glacier is. At one point I couldn’t  even fit the glacier in to one picture. As it was much colder there was hardly any calving. At one point we could see some ice coming off in the distance but nothing we could see properly. That being said the grey clouds really did bring out all the blue colours of the glacier, which at least to me was just as impressive.

The Hubbard Glacier

The Hubbard Glacier

I must say that sailing the Alaskan glaciers is a very special and impressive experience. Even if it is cold, so many crew members come out on deck to have a look at the ice and we all hope to see some wildlife. Oh and the hot chocolate we normally have makes everything even better.

The Hubbard Glacier

The Hubbard Glacier