Juneau is the capital of the state of Alaska since 1906 and is located along the Alaskan panhandle. Downtown Juneau is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and is across the channel from Douglas Island. Juneau experiences a daily influx of people from visiting cruise ships between the months of May and September. After landing in Juneau, we did a helicopter tour of the Mendenhall Glacier.
Helicopter ride and landing on glacier – As part of the cruise, for an additional cost of $250 per person, we were offered a helicopter tour to Mendenhall Glacier. We enjoyed incredible aerial views of the Juneau Icefield’s icefalls, crevasses, and rock formations from the helicopter. The tour included landing directly on the glacier for a short walk. We were provided with glacial boots for walking on the ice.
We spent some time walking on the glacier. The guide made sure to walk us along a safe route as there can be hidden crevasses, unstable ice, or icefalls. We enjoyed looking at the striking contrast of the glacier’s brilliant blue and white ice.
There were a number of small pools in the glacier which were deep blue in color due to light absorption and scattering. These Glacier Pools occur when a chunk of ice breaks off of a retreating glacier and embeds itself in the ground. When it melts, it forms what is called a kettle pond.
We did not spend much time in the city of Juneau after our Helicopter ride.