After spending six weeks in the Alaskan wilderness this summer, regrettably, my girlfriend Aubrey and I are back in civilization. In fact, we have been for almost a month now, but I’ve been too busy to write up our adventures until now.

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Before continuing, I want to announce my 2015 Calendars! This year I am doing an “adventure series,” to share some of the images I’ve made during my adventures over the past few years.

Click to pre-order your 2015 Art in Nature Adventure Series Calendars now
Order by Oct 20th to get 15% off

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Our extended trip started in Juneau, where we spent a few days with friends. We arrived on my birthday, in a torrential downpour, and wondered if we’d made a big mistake leaving sunny Seattle for the notoriously wet climate of southeast Alaska. Fortunately, the weather did clear and we took advantage of a beautiful sunny day by hiking out to the now-famous Mendenhall Glacier ice caves.

The ice caves have formed by the slow melting of the ancient crystal clear ice by a small stream that passes underneath the glacier. The resulting cave is a mesmerizing and almost impossibly blue palace of ice, which is melting rather quickly. Like many of the glaciers in the world, the Mendenhall is retreating – over 150 feet per year since 1958. Just a few weeks before our visit a large collapse threatened to destroy the ice caves, and before long, they will disappear entirely.

Stay tuned for the next two installments: ten days of kayaking in Glacier Bay National Park, and two weeks of backpacking in the Brooks Range!

Click any image for larger view!

Blue Glacial Ice, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska

Glacial Portal : Prints Available

Layers of ice of different ages near the entrance to the famous ice caves of the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska.

Stream under Mendenhall Glacier, Junea, Alaska

Underworld : Prints Available

The famous ice caves of the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska, are slowly melting away, and may be gone forever in a matter of years.

Ice Abstract, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska

Glacial Sculptures : Prints Available

Surreal colors and forms decorate the interior of a cave in the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska.

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