Patagonia Glaciers Expedition Stock Photos - December 2009
Below are a few stock images from the Patagonia Expedition. There are over 200 images not seen here
available for immediate licensing from Ultimate Chase Inc's sister site www.ExtremeNature.com
 
 
 
Perito Moreno Glacier Stock Photos - Argentina - December 2009
 
This is the first photo I took on the Patagonia trip and the sun was aligned perfectly for a centered shadow.
This was a good omen of things to come. This is the road that takes you from El Calafate to the Glaciers.
Notice the blue skies. I'm told there are perfect sunny days like this only 20 days a year in Patagonia.
I was lucky to have 2 days in a row like this and felt very fortunate and the photos came out magical.
 
The almighty Perito Moreno glacier on a picture perfect day.
 
The people in this photo give a sense of scale to the enormous size of the glacier.
 
Giant walls of ice lines the outer wall of the Perito Moreno glacier.
 
A boat full of people wait to see a chunk of ice break off the wall.
 
"On the edge of Non-Existence" - This hole in the glacier is also know as a "Moulin".
 
A hole in the glacier is also know as a "Moulin".
 
Hiking on the Perito Moreno glacier.
 
People looking inside a hole in the glacier is also know as a "Moulin".
 
A hole in the glacier is also know as a "Moulin".
 
The worlds cleanest waterfall in the middle of the glacier.
 
The worlds cleanest waterfall in the middle of the glacier.
 
 
A hole in the glacier is also know as a "Moulin". This waterfall goes more than 100 feet down !
 
Life is one Big Adventure...
 
Relaxing on the glacier on a perfect picture day.
 
 
 
 
The blue colors on the glaciers were phenomenal.
 
The blue colors on the glaciers were phenomenal.
 
Life is one Big Adventure...
 
An iceburg breaks in half and rolls around.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Spagazzini glacier only accessible by boat. Notice how small the boat looks.
 
Interesting looking icebergs.
 
Interesting looking icebergs.
 
Interesting looking icebergs. Looks like a pontoon boat.
 
 
Lake Argentina filled with fresh melted glacier water
 
Interesting looking clouds. Looks like a mini supercell with and anvil and inflow tail.
 
Interesting looking clouds with an airplane passing by.
 
Hiking uphill with a group to get to the glacier.
 
 
 
   
   
Glacier Calvings and Eruptions:
The animation below is a series of photos that show a large section of the front edge of the
Perito Moreno glacier breaking off. The sound was amazing, sounded like a shotgun.
Note: This is a large file size so its recommended to download the animation first, than watch.
Just right click on the link below and choose "Save Target As" or "Save Link As" and save to desktop.
Click Here to watch Glacier Calving / Eruption Animation
file type: GIF
file size: 3.30mb
 
Glacier Expedition Account: Patagonia is truly one of the most amazing and magical places on this planet. The lighting during sunrise and sunset are like nowhere else and the glaciers almost seem to be a living. The Perito Moreno glacier is always growing and breaking and her appearance changes daily. When I first arrived to the glacier and heard my first calving/eruption of the glacier the sound just put me in a state of awe. The entire time you are there you hear loud cracking noises followed by shotgun sounding booms and crashes. You might think to yourself "how long could I sit there and stare at a giant piece of ice"? Well, unless you have no appreciating for nature you could stay there all day in amazement. To watch the glacier wall and wait for the next giant piece of ice to break off and listen to the rumbling and cracking noises is very relaxing and spiritual. You really feel the power of nature and gain a new sense of respect for Planet Earth when you see this wonder of the world.

I was extremely fortunate on this trip as far a photography. Over 98% of the year when taking photos of the glaciers you will not get much color because the scene is white snow on white cloudy skies and white mountains. Basically you see a lot of white. The weather there is usually cold, cloudy, and rainy. My first few days I was in Patagonia I was welcomed with no clouds and perfect blue skies and the glaciers ice sparkled like a bottle of champagne. This was perfect for photos. The blue skies gave color to the photos and the sun shining on the glaciers directly made the cracks and crevasses glow with a deep blue and just made fantastic shooting conditions. One of the hiking guides told me that you only see clear days like this 15-20 days out of an entire year. This made me feel very lucky and I took full advantage of my days. Speaking of days they were about 17 hours long. It didn't get fully dark until around 10:30pm and the sun rose at 5:30am.

I have many memorable moments on this trip but the top would be the hike onto the Perito Moreno glacier. Going with a group of 10 people we wore crampons on our feet and started exploring the glaciers. The scariest yet coolest thing I encountered was a Moulin (A waterfall in the middle of the glaciers). Basically the ice on top of the glacier melts and creates rivers and then eventually these rivers find a weak spot and start eroding and hole in the middle of the glaciers and which goes deeper and deeper. Sometimes these holes go all the way to the bottom of the glacier and the water acts like a lubricant and helps the glacier move down the mountain. We found a big one and each step we took towards it was more freighting. Eventually we stopped and the guide said "Ok, I can not express how important safety is and how much you need to pay attention if you want to look down this hole. If you fall in this hole we can NOT get you out, PERIOD ! You will go over 100 feet down and never be seen again". Myself and one other guy are the only ones that elected to look down it. I just had to get photos. The two guides held me by my safety harness and basically made sure there was no way I could fall in. Although the thought sounds dangerous it really was not. We were well prepared and I felt safe doing this. Anyway, when standing on the edge looking down my words in this account could never express how amazing the noise was and how little it made me feel as a human. When looking down the hole you could see way down until it was pitch black. The bottom could not be seen at all. I took as many photos as I could in a 20 second period and then stepped back. I felt the entire trip was worth it at that moment and it was only the second day there. Later the group had lunch on the glacier and drank the water right out of the river of melted ice. This was by far the cleanest water that will ever go into my body. It was ice cold fresh glacier water and again a very special moment. To know that this water had been frozen for thousands of years and the last time it was in liquid format the dinosaurs may have been on this planet was a mind boggling thought. The entire trip to Patagonia and especially the glaciers is by far in the top 3 most amazing experiences of my life....

You can see more photos from this expedition at: Extreme Nature Photography
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