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Archive 2016 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

brockslinger
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

I was lucky enough to spend my 30th birthday kayaking out to and then climbing onto and into the Medenhall Glacier. It was amazing to hike up onto the glacier itself and get a first hand view of it's recession. It is currently receding at about 400ft per year with changes seen daily.

We had a chance to enter an ice cave but we didn't hang out inside of it too long due to fears of its collapse. The darker the ice the more dense the ice is, giving it the most amazing of blue colors. The white or clear ice you can see is thinner and the guide didn't think this cave was going to be around within the next 2 days as the ceiling was pretty weak. I was forced to shoot these photos handheld and with a higher ISO than ideal but decently happy with the results.

Aug 03, 2016 at 05:33 PM

Keaty
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

This is a nice set. Great way to celebrate your 30th! Those ice caves can get a bit sketchy sometimes. You managed to shoot it well. I do a lot of shooting while hiking and backpacking so I've gotten used to cranking the ISO up a bit to get the shots I need. Luckily cameras handle higher ISOs fairly well these days so it isn't as big a deal as it used to be.

Aug 03, 2016 at 05:46 PM

fingerda
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Nice shots, love #3.

DaveF

Aug 03, 2016 at 06:00 PM

Hardcore
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Beautiful shots Brock. Love the turquoise blue tones & texture of the ice!

Aug 03, 2016 at 08:45 PM

Frogfish
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Very cool birthday and series ! I like #3 the best as people in ice caves always puts them into perspective.

Aug 03, 2016 at 10:05 PM

brockslinger
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Keaty wrote:
This is a nice set. Great way to celebrate your 30th! Those ice caves can get a bit sketchy sometimes. You managed to shoot it well. I do a lot of shooting while hiking and backpacking so I've gotten used to cranking the ISO up a bit to get the shots I need. Luckily cameras handle higher ISOs fairly well these days so it isn't as big a deal as it used to be.

Thanks Keaty - I'm still shooting with a NEX-6 and it really doesn't handle anything much above 400-600 with acceptable results for my taste. I wish I could have pulled out my tripod and shot away for 30 min. here.
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fingerda wrote:
Nice shots, love #3.

DaveF

Thanks Dave!

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Hardcore wrote:
Beautiful shots Brock. Love the turquoise blue tones & texture of the ice!

Appreciate the good words! The colors are truly amazing and only believable when you set your eyes on them. It's a different world under the sheet of ice.
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Frogfish wrote:
Very cool birthday and series ! I like #3 the best as people in ice caves always puts them into perspective.

Thanks Frogfish - it was a bucket list trip for me and one I wont soon forget! I am generally one who doesn't include people in my photos but in this case I do wish I would have taken more. Just as you said, it helps put the cave into perspective.

Aug 03, 2016 at 10:24 PM

bill s
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Holy bat caves, Batman. Those are incredible in the ice caves!!!

Aug 04, 2016 at 12:34 AM

DaleBerlin
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Awesome shots, especially 3, what a fantastic way to spend a birthday. How long were you in the cave? I want to divide that into 24 and see what your guide's risk tolerance is lol.

Aug 04, 2016 at 07:15 AM

mfonseca
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Great pics. I was there a few years ago. It's an amazing spot.

Aug 04, 2016 at 10:21 AM

JimFox
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Very cool shots here. I don't blame anyone for not staying too long in an ice cave. My favorite is #5, it looks like a diamond in the rough. #3 with the people in it would have been much better had there only been one person in the shot or if the people were spread out more and not stacked on each other. Though personally even with that the best shots to me have no one in it.

Jim

Aug 04, 2016 at 10:44 AM

alatoo60
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Wow, very impressive shots, all of them. My favorites are #3 and 5.

Sasha.

Aug 04, 2016 at 01:16 PM

rongwam
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

Lovely! #3 is a killer shot!

Henry

Aug 04, 2016 at 01:37 PM

brockslinger
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Mendenhall Ice Caves

bill s wrote:
Holy bat caves, Batman. Those are incredible in the ice caves!!!

Thanks Bill! It was a sight I won't forget!

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DaleBerlin wrote:
Awesome shots, especially 3, what a fantastic way to spend a birthday. How long were you in the cave? I want to divide that into 24 and see what your guide's risk tolerance is lol.

We were really only allowed in there for about 3 minutes and we had to stay to one side of the cave as their were some weak points to the left of the people.
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mfonseca wrote:
Great pics. I was there a few years ago. It's an amazing spot.

Thanks! Does the terminus look much different than when you visited?

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JimFox wrote:
Very cool shots here. I don't blame anyone for not staying too long in an ice cave. My favorite is #5, it looks like a diamond in the rough. #3 with the people in it would have been much better had there only been one person in the shot or if the people were spread out more and not stacked on each other. Though personally even with that the best shots to me have no one in it.

Jim

Thanks Jim - I really wish we had more time in the caves themselves. There was a group rappelling into other caves that had much stronger and thicker ice. If I were to go back I would most definitely search out this type of experience to maximise time in the caves and be able to set up shots more properly. Thanks for the comments!

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alatoo60 wrote:
Wow, very impressive shots, all of them. My favorites are #3 and 5.

Sasha.

Thanks Sasha - it's a unique place that's for sure!

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rongwam wrote:
Lovely! #3 is a killer shot!

Henry

Thanks Henry - my favorite as well!

Aug 04, 2016 at 07:04 PM


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