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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 1 (May 1, 1929)

Franz Josef Glacier — Vast Flashing Jewel Amidst Sylvan Glories

page 51

Franz Josef Glacier
Vast Flashing Jewel Amidst Sylvan Glories

“His foundation is in the holy mountains.” Psalm 87, 1.

To attempt to give an adequate description of the Franz Josef Glacier and its wonderful setting, and so present a satisfactory picture of its extraordinary grandeur is to set out upon no mean task. Having spent over a fortnight on holiday in that wholly unique region and seven days of that in climbing the Glacier from the terminal face to its head, and in viewing it from numerous points of advantage under varying conditions, the writer hopes to be able to convey some of the impressions he received.

The Franz Josef Glacier is singularly beautiful, so beautiful indeed, and centred amidst such wild, exceptional, and picturesque surroundings that if it were situated in any other country than New Zealand it would long ago have been acclaimed “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World.” Surely no modest title to distinction, but the amazing part is that there are so many reasons for advancing in support of it. With the sole exception of its majestic neighbour, the Fox Glacier, located only seventeen miles further South, there are many who are agreed in asserting that there is no other glacier that can be compared with it in the combination of so many phenomena, and, therefore, in its exceptional loveliness.

Combination of Unique Features.

Debouching out of one of the two greatest snowfields in the Southern Alps—the Fox flows out of the other, which adjoins—the Franz Josef descends over 8,000 feet in the comparatively short distance of eight and a half miles to as low an altitude as 692 feet above sea level, and to within ten miles of the open sea, factors which make it easily accessible to all, and which are so unusual as to be non-existent outside the Arctic and Antarctic circles. Glaciers descending to such freakish levels may be found in the Polar regions, but not within such a short distance of the ever-open sea. The Franz Josef, again, is specially notable for another outstanding characteristic which they do not and cannot possess, and that is that, for a great part of its length, it plunges thousands of feet into the most luxuriant subtropical vegetation to be seen in any part of the world, into sylvan glories which only South Westland can show…. Walled in on both sides by towering and permanently snow-clad ranges that reach up into the sky, “The Franz,” as this superb creation is affectionately termed, has additional claims to renown. One of these is that, unlike the vast majority of other glaciers, it carries so little moraine (disfiguring mountain debris carried down by the ice), as to be almost free from it down the whole of its surface, white ice even being seen in its terminal face; another is that, owing to its precipitous descent, it is one of the most broken glaciers in existence, being punctuated down the whole of its trunk by yawning crevasses and enormous ice-falls in which giant pinnacles, 100 and 200 feet high, appear in the most jagged and fantastic shapes. It is this remarkable grouping of rare features, and with each of them in its most pronounced form, that makes the Franz Josef the marvellous thing of beauty it really is.

Flaming Jewel in Mountain Side.

Viewed from “Christmas Outlook,” some 3,000 feet above sea level, on Alec's Knob (4,288 feet), one of the lower peaks of the Kaiser Fritz range flanking the glacier on its Western or right-hand side looking up, the Franz Josef cannot but arouse the deepest feelings of reverence at the wholly delicate and yet sublime magnificence of the Creator's handiwork. It shines out as a vast, living, flaming jewel in the mountain side, scintillating under the brilliant rays of the sun like billions of gems of the finest hues…. Colossal and continuous masses of glowing white ice, measuring from half-a-mile to three-quarters of a mile in width and flowing at the rate of from 3 to 15 feet per day, are to be seen journeying down in weird, chaotic splendour, showing out here and there in splashes of the palest blue, in the most delicate shades of green, in violet and in saffron. In its colours, moreover, it is always changing—which is part of its strange enchantment—painting, as only Nature can paint, the most page 52 perfect of pictures, rose pink at dawn “and in sunset glow,” varying and ever-varying in sunlight, shadow and mist, never seen quite the same throughout the live-long day, or as the seasons advance. It is in its exceedingly unique setting, however, especially as revealed through the riot of Sub-Tropical forest, that it possesses its greatest charm. This is beyond one's wildest imaginings at any time of the year, but it reaches its climax in January, when the rata is in bloom, and the mountain sides, bordering the glacier for some three miles up its length are adorned in vast blazes of scarlet against the most vivid green.

“Most Beautiful Thing in the World.”

Yet the higher one climbs up Alec's Knob or Mt. Moltke (6,509 feet), on the Western side, the more entrancing becomes the view. The phantom-like pinnacles, the deep crevasses grow smaller and smaller until at last they appear as the filmiest of gossamers with silken sheen draping this wonderful, ever-flowing river of luminous ice…. The Almer Glacier is disclosed entering “The Franz” from the left, the Melchior and Agassiz Glaciers at the head, and higher up still “The Franz” itself emerging from the enormous glittering snowfields which ascend to such an elevation as to dwarf even the mighty peaks of the Great Divide.… . Yes, when seen to such advantage, framed in the blaze of the rata, under a sapphire sky, and in golden sunlight, the Franz Josef Glacier may confidently be said to deserve even that proudest of titles—“The Most Beautiful Thing in the World.”

Sensations on the Ice.

To see the glacier from the plain and the heights, however, is not enough. One must go upon the ice, spend whole days upon the glacier itself in ascending and descending it, to experience a variety of sensations which are new to most. The easy but unforgetable walk of three miles along the well-formed track through the virgin forest and beside the rushing Waiho River up to the face of the glacier; the immortal notes of the tuis and bellbirds; the reflections in Peter's Pool; the thrills in excelsis of crossing genuine ice razor-backs under the direction of experienced guides, who cut nice steps across; the joy of getting on the white honeycombed ice; the passing through bewildering mazes of crevasses and ice-falls out of which it seems ever impossible to emerge, but through which the guides readily find their way under the magic touch of the ice-axe; the fascination of the blow-hole, going deep down, up which surging waters gurgle and the glacier seems actually to breathe; the introduction to one's first moulins (of which there are scores), round holes in the ice which go down to mysterious depths, getting bluer and bluer as they descend, and into which sparkling rills, clearer than crystal, tumble in riotous glee; the music of running water on the melting ice, and of streams, cataracts, and high waterfalls (the Unser Fritz waterfall, above Cape Defiance, is no less than 1,209 feet high), cascading in feathery foam down the mountain sides; the distant boom of avalanches—these are some of the delights to be met with in the popular journey up to Defiance Hut (2,657 feet), two and a-half miles up the glacier.

Road Approach to Franz Josef. The Main South Road of the West Coast.

Road Approach to Franz Josef.
The Main South Road of the West Coast.

Fresh Big Ice Wave Now On.

But one is most impressed by witnessing evidences of the mighty forces which have been at work when the ice-stream, acting under periodical accumulations of snow in the mountains, has been in flood, rising in great billows which have swept the lower portions of the mountain walls clear of all vegetation for heights of hundreds of feet. This is particularly noticeable on the left, or Eastern wall, below page 53 Roberts Point (2,034 feet), where parties clamber up and along the rock face to avoid the passage through the first ice-falls, and then go out on to the ice again to cross over to Cape Defiance. Here, in the unrecorded past, estimated at about 150 years ago, a stupendous ice-wave rose 400 feet from the normal level and carried all before it, stripping the rock completely bare, and cutting it as though by a huge chisel. The vegetation has grown again and in successive rises of the ice, none of them so high as the big one torn away again only to renew itself afresh. So the battle between ice and vegetation goes on.

During the past sixty years there have been two great swellings, the last of which, twenty years ago, cleared away the gallery erected some 200 feet above the usual level of the ice for the convenience of tourists. Two years ago Mr. Arthur P. Harper, President of the New Zealand Alpine Club, and one of the foremost authorities on the subject of the Franz Josef Glacier, predicted that another wave was now due, and his forecast has been so accurately fulfilled that Mr. Peter Graham, the celebrated alpine guide, states that this wave is now on, the ice being at least 100 feet higher than usual with the climax yet to come. “Vegetation,” he says, “which has grown within the last twenty years, is now being carried away, and the present wave will go on probably for another two years.”

An Exciting Passage.

It is the trip from Defiance Hut up to the Almer bivouac, on the shoulder of the Baird Range overlooking the Great Ice-Falls, however, that is the most exciting. The route lies over on to and up the middle of the glacier, passing to the left in front of the Great Ice-Falls, up the Glacier again for a long stretch, across the junction where the Almer Glacier flows into “The Franz,” and then up the face of the Almer ridge to the bivouac above. The Almer Glacier, badly discoloured with mountain debris, is a vision of wickedness at any time, but as we saw it in January, when it was still coated with red dust blown over the Tasman sea from Australia in October last, it was more evil-looking than ever. With scores of super-imposed pinnacles, 200 feet high, crowding closely down upon one another, they were cracked at their bases and leaning forward at an ominous angle as if they were about to topple over at any moment. Passing up under the face of these, too close to be at all pleasant, and with Guide Jack Pope cutting steps the whole way, we could actually feel the ice moving under our feet as the great pressures met, and, worse still, heard it creak and groan! …. Needless to say, no matter how tired we were (we had climbed Mt. Moltke that morning from Defiance Hut), we did not linger to enjoy these sensations, or to admire the scenery, but pressed forward with all possible speed. Even the guide, accustomed to such things, said, “We will get past here as quickly as possible.” And we kept hard upon his heels. But, oh! the “pace” was by no means killing; it seemed at the rate of about a quarter of a mile an hour, and may have been less than that.

Sensations on the Ice. Yawning crevasses on Franz Josef Glacier.

Sensations on the Ice.
Yawning crevasses on Franz Josef Glacier.

Sublime Views from the Bivouac.

Having safely negotiated this truly awe-inspiring junction of the tributary with the main ice-stream, not without a very pronounced feeling of thankfulness, we then did the wholly stiff climb of from 800 to 1,000 feet up the so-called “grassy slope” to the Almer bivouac, amid the snowfields above.

From this height, close upon 6,000 feet above sea level, situated in the bosom of the Alps, we enjoyed our evening meal, watching the glorious sunset with its gorgeous effects—looking up, across, and down the Great Ice-Falls of the Franz Josef, bulging and falling abruptly over 1,000 feet between enormous and page 54 dark frowning precipices on either side, the huge pinnacles now transformed against the sun's rays into an almost transparent blue; gazing intently, but now wholly unperturbed, at the dreaded Almer Glacier below, and upwards at the big snowfields that give it perpetual life; looking down, far down, at Defiance Hut and still further down into the depths of the forest below, out on to the narrow plain through which the ice-cold waters of the Waiho River spread, out to the coast line with the waves breaking on the shore, and far out into the Tasman Sea which melted into the horizon; surveying the bold masses of Mt. Moltke and Roon (7,344 feet), and their snowfields; turning round and viewing the wholly picturesque Croz, Blumenthal and Melchior Glaciers tumbling into “The Franz,” and obtaining glimpses of the immense snowfields above. …. The only objects to divert our attention while we endeavoured to memorise these wonders of the Alps were the ever-engaging keas which gathered around. … In the silence, broken now and then by the cries of the keas and the occasional roar of tumbling pinnacles and cascading ice, one echoed the hope:—

Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. Luke, 24, 29.

The sun, now a huge blazing disc, dipped down rapidly behind the mighty bulk of Room; the lights changed from gold and amber to pink, and then paled into silver; the shades of night fell down fast upon us. So we turned in, our slumbers broken only by the noise of the friendly keas as they cluttered up and down the roof, and by the tumbling of the ice on the glaciers which completely encircled us.

Early Morning Scene From Almer Bivouac. (Govt. Publicity Photo.) An unforgetable view taken from just above the Almer Bivouac (in the foreground), at an elevation of close upon 6,000 feet, showing: (1) The Franz Josef Glacier flowing down towards the sea; (2) On the left the lower peaks of the Kaiser Fritz Range comprising the snowfields of Mt. Moltke, Tower Saddle, Lemner Peak, Ebenezer Peak, and Alec's Knob; (3) The glacier-fed Waiho River finding its way to the open sea, about fifteen miles distant from the photographer; and (4) To the right, portion of the Baird Range and the Almer Glacier joining the “Franz,” about 1,000 feet below the camera. Cape Defiance, at the foot of which the hut is situated, is seen directly over the man's head, only it is 3,000 feet below.

Early Morning Scene From Almer Bivouac.
(Govt. Publicity Photo.)
An unforgetable view taken from just above the Almer Bivouac (in the foreground), at an elevation of close upon 6,000 feet, showing: (1) The Franz Josef Glacier flowing down towards the sea; (2) On the left the lower peaks of the Kaiser Fritz Range comprising the snowfields of Mt. Moltke, Tower Saddle, Lemner Peak, Ebenezer Peak, and Alec's Knob; (3) The glacier-fed Waiho River finding its way to the open sea, about fifteen miles distant from the photographer; and (4) To the right, portion of the Baird Range and the Almer Glacier joining the “Franz,” about 1,000 feet below the camera. Cape Defiance, at the foot of which the hut is situated, is seen directly over the man's head, only it is 3,000 feet below.