Wednesday morning was white with blowing snow. With all the poor weather, it was looking unlikely that Liz and I would be able to make it out to Lake Hoare on our scheduled helicopter flight. Rae surprised us in town and was scheduled to fly out with us. After lunch, the snow ceased and visibility improved a little. Just 30 mins after our scheduled time we received a call notifying us that they were going give it a shot. We loaded our helicopter and were on our way. Our pilot, Paul, navigated out to the ice edge and then over to the valleys. An unusual sight welcomed us into the Dry Valleys... several inches of snow cloaked the valley floor all the way up to the peaks. It looked like a different place. I was quite happy landing at Lake Hoare. Sandra welcomed us and we began to unpack. Later in the evening I was overcome with joy.. eating some of Rae's famous pad thai, sipping a GnT and finishing the evening with a very fine moist German chocolate cake that Sandra made. Its good to be back.
Dana Glacier has a rich history of repeat photography. Owing greatly to its relative ease of access from Tioga Pass, the glacier has the greatest number of repeat photographs of any glacier in the Sierra Nevada. Israel Cook Russell first photographed Dana Glacier in 1883 while conducting surveys for the USGS. Little did he know that one of his photos would be purposefully repeated 32 times over the next 130 years by those seeking to maintain a photographic record of glacier change. Dana Glacier 1883 – 2013, from Station 4. Russell documented the existence of Dana Glacier when the glaciers in the Sierra Nevada were near their recent maximum. In 1883, the glacier is in contact with the moraine and crevasses are observed indicating movement. Since that time the glacier has retreated. The first and most repeated of Russell’s photograph shows the glacier from the north shore of Dana Lake. A comparison with the 2013 repeat photograph shows that the glacier has retreated and lost surf...