Although not 14,242 feet...

Although not 14,242 feet...

Although not 14,242 feet tall, the Palisade Glacier can still provide fun moulineering adventures. October, 2003.
loopperu
on Oct 24, 2003 12:24 pm
Image ID: 31465

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Diggler

Diggler - Oct 24, 2003 1:57 pm - Voted 10/10

whoa!

What a trippy picture! Is this in one of the bergschrunds, or a crevasse, ...?!

loopperu

loopperu - Oct 27, 2003 1:48 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: whoa!

Diggler,



This feature is called a moulin. When a crevasse begins to close up, water is routed towards the opening that remains. The friction between the falling meltwater and the ice walls creates enough heat to melt part of the wall. Eventually the crevasse closes completely except for the hole that is maintained by the large amount of meltwater falling down it. As we descended we could see closed cracks that looked like suture zones in the ice.



-loopperu

Diggler

Diggler - Oct 27, 2003 3:31 pm - Voted 10/10

Re: whoa!

Right on- thanks for expanding my knowledge of how glaciers work!

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