Alyse Horn, 2011 New Zealand student blogger, writes:
Fox Glacier is found in South Westland, New Zealand and has been recorded to advance at up to four meters per day, and guess what? We climbed it on Tuesday.
Just another tag to the awesomeness of New Zealand’s diverse ecosystem, the glacier is found surrounded by rainforest. Huge amounts of snow and ice become trapped in the long, narrow valley where Fox Glacier is found. This adventure gave us the hands of experience of learning about global warming and sustainability. What is funny is that Fox Glacier has actually been advancing since the 1980’s, which means it has been getting bigger.
I still just can’t believe we climbed a glacier. Before we went up our guides provided us with thick wool socks; uncomfortable, heavy steel toed boots; and cramp-on’s. Cramp-on’s are metal spikes you wrap around your boot to keep you from sliding off the glacier or into a crevasse, pictured right. After hiking through a valley up to the glacier, we strapped those suckers on and started climbing. It was amazing, we were completely surrounded by walls of ice. Once we reached the top our eyes were met with the most jaw dropping site. We were standing on the glacier, but completely surrounded by rainforest, as you can see from the picture to the left. It is amazing that New Zealand has the type of climate to offer something that is so unbelievable it seems like a dream.
When we went to take a group picture of Penn State our guide told us to do something crazy that no other group has done before, so naturally we did. Rob, a friend and student in our group suggested a wheel barrow race. We partnered up and are pictured on top of Fox Glacier walking around on our hands with our feet held up in the air. It was so ridiculous don’t think any of us could stop laughing the entire time the pictures were being taken.
On Wednesday we made a pit stop at a dairy farm. New Zealand is the eighth largest dairy producer in the world and the country only uses about five percent of its own dairy. As you can guess, dairy is a major export for New Zealand. We stopped at the dairy farm to learn more about the industry and how sustainable it is for the environment. I actually got the chance to help milk a cow, which was interesting. When I say milking a cow, I don’t mean the old style of sitting down on a stool and going at it. This dairy farm had a rotating stable where about 50 cows would walk in and be hooked up to a machine that milked them. On this specific farm there were 900 cows that were milked twice a day, and with the milking machine it only takes three people to run.
This morning Penn State and Virginia Tech went on a hike before traveling to Motueka. One thing is for sure, I did not expect the hike we went on to be so hard or so rewarding. We started at 600m above sea level and ended at 18,349 m above sea level. It was one of the hardest things I think I have done physically in my life but oh so rewarding because finally, this hike led to the top of a mountain. All we have been talking about this entire trip was how we have all wanted to climb mountains and touch them, and today we did.
The trail was called the St. Arnaud Track, and during the last mile it was completely vertical. It is kind of funny because I had no idea where this trail was going to lead us. Once it started getting steeper, my legs started to ache a little bit more with each passing minute. Some people had to turn around because of previous injuries and what not and I definitely was tempted to go with them, but I just kept going. I knew that whatever was at the end of the trail was going to be well worth it.
By the time I reached the overlook called Parachute Rock I realized we were above the clouds. Then, I turned around and looked up. I saw a few people from VT and PSU standing at the top of the ridge which was the last mile of the hike. My legs were already screaming at me to sit down, but the adrenaline kicked in and I was off. The entire way up my lungs were burning, and I kept talking to myself in my head saying, “just one step at a time Alyse, mind over matter.” Half way up to the top some of my friends were already on their way down but kept encouraging me to keep going which helped a lot. By the time I reached the top, some of the guys were cheering me on. I kept imagining myself screaming in victory once I reached the top of the mountain, but when I got there I couldn’t speak. My voice disappeared and I was breathless. I was awed by the beauty of it all. I sat down and let the freezing cold wind engulf my body that was drenched in sweat, shown left. All of my senses were surging through my body and it felt so amazing to be alive. I ate my peanut butter and banana sandwich while I was up there and it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.
Hiking and climbing have given me a feeling that no other activity has. The fact that you can push your body to the limit, and when you think you’re about to collapse something inside of you just keeps you going. On the hike down I couldn’t stop smiling and just kept thinking how wonderful I felt. I wanted to share that feeling with my family and friends, and kept imagining taking a trip back to New Zealand with my Dad. I’ve thought about him a lot on this trip because he is the reason I adore the outdoors, and I know he would love the chance to come to New Zealand. This country is magical; I mean come on, would they have filmed Lord of the Rings here if it wasn’t?
