Storytelling Project:
The Glaciers of Glacier National Park
In 2017, I fell in love with glaciers, while on a trip in the heart of the North Cascades. When I moved to western Montana, I knew I wanted to keep spending time with them, and after reading M Jackson’s book The Secret Lives of Glaciers, I dreamt up this project.
In the summer of 2022, I received the Wilderness Inspiration Grant from the Matthew Hansen Endowment for Wilderness Studies to begin a storytelling project about the relationship between humans and the glaciers of Glacier National Park.
I have three goals for this project:
to visit as many of the glaciers as I can
to talk with people whose lives revolve around these glaciers
to film and photograph what I find
With this project, I hope to show a more nuanced perspective of how glaciers interact with the landscapes and communities of Montana, to explore more complex narratives around loss and change and to understand what we can learn by spending time exploring the landscapes we live in.
As of Summer 2022, there are 26 glaciers within the park, though this number is decreasing as new USGS reports are released. Most glaciers are deep offtrail, requiring multiday excursions filled with bushwhacking and scrambling. You can follow along here or on my Instagram!
Totals Traveled as of late October 2023
20 glaciers (of 26)
184 hours of travel over 18 days
270 miles
78k’ gain
Two pairs of approach shoes destroyed, onto the third!
Media Mentions / Publications
While They’re Still Here - February 2024
I published a personal essay in Issue 5 of Trails Magazine exploring the concepts of hospice and perceived inevitability, and how this project is helping me make space for the grief and joy that accompany the changes and loss driven by anthropogenic climatic shifts.
Witness - December 2022
I published a profile on Jonathan Marquis, artist and mountaineer, and his relationship with the glaciers of Montana. I visited several glaciers with Jonathan in August 2022.
Upcoming Stories
I’m in the early stages of a piece on parenthood in the face of climate change, set in Glacier National Park.
Working Title: Bearing Witness - I’m working with filmmaker Jordan Hoffmaster on a documentary about Jonathan Marquis as he attempts to finish visiting and drawing all of the glaciers of Montana in Summer 2024. We hope to finish the film in Winter 2024/25.
Coverage
In Winter 2023/24, I was profiled for the University of Montana’s Graduate School podcast, Confluence, speaking about my relationship with glaciers, climate change and my work.
Map of the Glaciers of Glacier National Park
Map Key
Green = visited
Blue = not visited yet
Purple = not visited yet and likely to be downgraded to a permanent snowfield soon due to small size - Fall 2023 Update, I visited all of them!
The Trips
Jonathan Marquis with Vulture Glacier behind him.
Trip 1 - Vulture & Carter Glaciers
45 hours of travel over four days, 60 miles, 20k’ gain, two glaciers + one glacieret (Two Oceans)
Joined by Jonathan Marquis, an artist and professor currently working on his Glacier Drawing Project, for which he is visiting and drawing all the glaciers of Montana, and Colin Sibbernsen, a mountaineer and teacher with over a decade of experience in the park. Vulture and Carter are some of the most remote glaciers in the park and are far from any trails. Perfect for my first trip.
Here’s a quick teaser clip showing some footage from trip one!
Jonathan draws Whitecrow Glacier as it clings to the side of Mount Cleveland, the highest peak in the park.
Trip 2 - Miche Wabun and Whitecrow Glaciers
37 hours of travel over three days, 45 miles, 15k’ gain, two glaciers
Joined again by Jonathan Marquis, an artist and professor currently working on his Glacier Drawing Project, for which he is visiting and drawing all the glaciers of Montana. Miche Wabun is another of the most remote glaciers in the park, while Whitecrow is perched just over a mile from a trail, but requires 3,000’ of steep bushwhacking to visit.
Climbing down Salamander Glacier to reach Grinnell Glacier
Trip 3 - Swiftcurrent, Salamander and Grinnell Glaciers
12 hours of travel in one day, 19 miles, 5k’ gain, three glaciers
Joined by G Platte, an Alaska-based mountaineer, ultra-runner, and all-around badass. Swiftcurrent, Salamander and Grinnell are some of the most visited glaciers in the park and are all relatively easy to see, though linking them up requires steep snow travel.
Crossing Jackson Glacier
Trip 4 - Logan, Pumpelly, Blackfoot, Jackson, and Harrison Glaciers
22 hours of travel over two days, 29 miles, 9,600’ gain, five glaciers
Joined by Solomon Krevans, a PNW-based mountain man, whose cheerful conversation made the sloggy offtrail miles fly by. Despite heavy smoke and 40 mph gusts, we visited (and walked across) five of the largest glaciers in the park.
Wild lighting on the approach, Siyeh Glacier is perched on the left side of the image. At least half of the glacier is covered in rocks.
Trip 5 - Siyeh Glacier
11 hours of travel over two days, 20 miles, 3,200’ gain, one glacier
Last glacier of the 2022 season was a spectacular fall-colored trip with nine grizzlies, two goats, two moose, and one mink sighted!
Gem Glacier (now a permanent snowfield), Grinnell Glacier below, and Salamander Glacier in the middle left (above the cliffs).
Trip 6 - Gem, Grinnell and Salamander Glaciers
7 hrs of travel, one day, 10 miles, 2,700’ gain, three glaciers
First trip of 2023! Joined by my friend Jonathan Marquis, an artist and mountaineer, and his partner Erin. We’d all been to Grinnell but hadn’t been up to Gem before and it was beautiful to get the view from the top! Also saw a herd of mountain goats and three bighorn sheep.
Jonathan moving through some exposure above Ipasha Glacier (in the distance)
Trip 7 - Ahern, Ipasha, and Chaney Glaciers
20 hrs of travel over two days, 31 miles, 10,000’ gain, three glaciers
Joined by Jonathan Marquis again! I’d been looking forward to this particular linkup for years and it did not disappoint. Spectacular views, lots of high-quality scrambling, and saw a grizzly, bighorn sheep, and some alpine ducks!
Mica takes in the views above Sexton Glacier.
Trip 8 - Piegan and Sexton Glaciers
12 hrs of travel in one day, 13 miles, 6,200’ gain, two glaciers
A big day out with runner and youth plaintiff Mica Kantor! Huge dropoffs on this linkup with tons of gorgeous views, and got to see marmots, mountain goats and pika - Mica’s favorite animal!
On the second day, the sun finally appears!
Trip 9 - Thunderbird and Dixon Glaciers
16 hrs of travel over two days, 33 miles, 6,800’ gain, two glaciers
Despite mid-October snow and gloom, I got out to the North Fork zone with Barron Peper, a community-focused architect, photographer, and all-around delightful adventure buddy.
The rock quality in Glacier National Park always takes some getting used to.
Trip 10 - Old Sun Glacier
21 hrs of travel over three days, 32 miles, 7,200’ gain, one glacier
Summer 2024 was wildly busy with work, but I knew I wanted to get at least one glacier visit in before the snows came. In mid-October, I headed up to Old Sun Glacier solo. Did a fair amount of night hiking, and was lucky enough to hear a pack of wolves from only a thousand feet away.
Next up, a winter trip?
Who am I?
You can find out more about me here, but in 2017, I fell in love with the glaciers of the Pacific Northwest. Since then, I’ve been intentional about spending as much time on and with glaciers as possible. Since they’re generally pretty tucked away, especially in Montana, I’ve fallen for the absurd process of figuring out how to bushwhack and scramble my way to them.
I’m also deeply curious about what glaciers mean to other people, and I’m overjoyed that this project is allowing me to explore these questions.
I know that this project might sound like a bit of a downer (melting glaciers and all), but I’ve found a ton of joy in this process, and wherever this project goes, I promise it will be more emotionally nuanced than just “climate grief”.
Hanging out on a glacier in the middle of the Park.
Hiking out after visiting Siyeh Glacier.
On top of the world on Jackson Glacier, forgive the crazy eyes.
