Ventisquero Pio XI

It was not what I expected it to be. I thought it would be a floating big piece of ice, slowly drifting. But when we got close to the glacier, I was astonished. Ventisquero Pio XI was quite different. The texture was not what I expected either. It looked like chunks of all shapes and sizes piled on top of each other. Edges and points of ice jutted out everywhere. The color was mainly white, but shadows and reflections made it tainted with blue. In crevasses, the blue was deeper and colder. Another amazing thing was the sheer size. The glacier was 50 meters high and 3.5 km across. On top of all that, the glacier stood out more because it contrasted with the peaks on either side. The green, brown and steep terrain of the fjords made the white and blue of the glacier stand out like an alien from a distant world. Also, it seemed to eat away at the fjords on either side. To me, it was a monster creeping up the slope eating at the ground and anything that decided to get in its way. Also, it was so close! We were 1/4 of a mile away from the towering ice. We anchored right beside it and the sun came out. It had been cloudy and rainy all day and the sun made it really nice to be on deck. The sun intensified the many shades of blue and faded the whites, making the glacier more dramatic and exaggerated. It was really amazing. I know ''really'' is a throw-away intensifier, but I cannot find words to describe the extent of the astonishment I felt.I will never forget seeing the first glacier from Sila. You can find the Ventisquero Pio XI glacier at 49°13'S 74°W. Just wait until you can see the pictures when we post them in December! - Jack Rabbit