We lucked out with virtually no wind the whole time we were in and around the continent, which meant we would get reflections in the water like you see in some of the photos. In the depths of winter, we wouldn’t be able to see any of the mountains – they would be entirely covered by snow.
In the photo in the top right below, you can just barely make some of us out making a landing here and hiking up the side of this small mountain. The A&K expedition team, in arriving early, would create a path for us to walk on, as the snow cover be 2-3 feet in some places where we wanted to walk. They’d mark our path with red flags. We had to stay clear of penguins and seals.
The frozen pieces in the water could be the remains of fresh water ice that has calved off the mountain or could be frozen sea water – sea ice. You can see – especially in the middle photo on the right – how the snow has just broken apart as it has gradually slid down the mountain over time.
The photo above gives another great view of the snow and ice and how it has broken up as it has slide down the mountain. It almost looks like a huge knife has been used to create massive slices in it. That little cave-like area in the middle right had a small bit calve-off while were there; the ice and snow falling into the water created a sequence of waves. Given a large enough calving, a tsunami can be created.
For about 4 of the 6 days we were in-and-around the continent, we had clear blue skies, no wind, and temps right around freezing; that was a killer combo for seeing amazing colors, mountains, and reflections in the water. Many of us got home from Antarctica with tans, and our expedition guides couldn’t believe how luck we’d been weather-wise.
We were left speechless any number of times by the beauty and the variation.
In the middle photo, below right, we were tempted to want to drive through the arch, but the tour guides kept us safe. You never know when something might collapse.
For the expedition guides, the ice always is amazing, as they never see the same combinations/configurations twice, no matter how often they’ve been.
Some of the ice looked like massive rock structures you might see in the desert of the southwestern US. Who know why or how it formed this way.
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