9/18 to 9/19/2018 – I’ve now had the good fortune to work the Sperry Glacier spring mass balance trip 4 years in a row, but had not yet had the opportunity to get up to Sperry for its fall measurements. This fall was different. With any trip up to the glacier, weather matters most and Adam and I jumped on the opportunity to head up to the glacier when a weather window opened up that was also perfectly aligned with the end of the summer ablation season. Being that the weather looked so lovely, we opted to camp up at the glacier (with park approval) for a night to get the work done in the most timely manner.

We enjoyed a the long walk up to Comeau Pass with large packs and an additional 6′ galvanized steel pipe (to keep us honest), then boogied over to the glacier to get to work. The rest of day was spent on the glacier taking measurements at each of its seven stake sites and collecting the melted-out stake segments. Between a couple of the stakes, we also found an old ski and an old geologist’s pick that had melted out of the glacier! Eventually, we moseyed back to the weather station to prepare it for its long, brutal winter high in the alpine of Glacier National Park. We ended the day off with setting up camp, and cooking dinner while watching the sun set over the high peaks of the park.

The next day we did a quick post-breakfast scramble up Gunsight Mountain, and enjoyed stunning views of a sea of clouds to the east. We then packed up our gear and wandered back down to Lake McDonald in a gorgeously clear autumn day. Great outing with a good fella!