Going up the glacier was plenty hard. We stopped at the base to put our socks and boots on. I realized then I was in trouble. They didn’t fit very well but were necessary to grip into the snow. Clouds and fog were right on us. The river was raging and roaring. It came out from the bottom of the glacier and sounded like thunder. That was the boulders and big pieces of ice rolling around. It was unbelievable. It seemed that it began to rain harder and harder the higher up we went. The steps were ice instead of snow and our boots wouldn’t grip. We had several NARROW passages to maneuver, ladders to cross, ropes to hold and pick sticks to use. The boots were heavy and getting heavier. All the steps were little lakes of water so the boots gripped nothing. My scar tissue on the left foot was numb and it was tough to try to kick into the ice! The farther I went the more I questioned what I was doing here!! The thunder began to get louder and then I realized that was real thunder over our heads. I was just praying there was no lightning. You’d also kind of just hold your breath and pray it wasn’t an avalanche – then realize this is BLUE ICE, not snow and that meant it couldn’t shift and slide. It was an awesome sight seeing the cracks and crevices and all the formations in the glacier. I did wonder what in the heck I was doing there and on the way back that feeling magnified 100 times. The trek down proved to be twice as hard as going up. I realized I had NO BUSINESS being up there!! My ankle won’t bend enough to let me take that deep a step coming down. My right knee won’t give enough either or it was overused. The guide was fussing at me for bending too far forward and using my arms as well. I could just see myself tumbling over. Andrew told me later he just knew I was going to fall on him in front of me and then we were all going to go!! We were both thinking similar thoughts and neither of us said a word at the time. I had noticed he kept turning around to see where I was and if I was keeping up. We took some pictures just because we were there but I’m sure they will be DARK. I really wanted to kiss the ground when I got down!!. It was an AWESOME, ONCE in a lifetime experience. We walked over the see where the river actually came out of the cave at the base of the glacier. I just can’t even describe the power of that water there. They estimated it was flowing at 40 or 50 kph. So loud! So swift! In a spot where a huge block of ice broke off the water went straight up in the air and then flowed over and went around the sides. We had our same long trek back out and then to a van. We were the first group out so we headed on back. Our particular guide in our small group was relatively new and had never been on the glacier in these conditions and he was just in awe. We headed straight for the hot chocolate and our own boots. Within minutes of walking outside our own boots were soaked anyway. The rain just pours off your jacket and fills your boots. We should have put our sandals back on even if our feet were cold! The disappointing part of the day for me was not being able to see the expanse of the glacier. The clouds were just in front of our face. It would be great fun up there for a day in the sun and having a picnic!! One option here is to take a helicopter up high and then climb down. That certainly wasn’t operating today.