NYT article on hiking in Matanuska Glacier, Alaska

[B the Hiker]

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/travel/escapes/20amer.html

Good enough read, if you have a few minutes. The thing is located inside a 24,000 square mile valley! Would have liked to have learned more about the glacier, but it's more of a family-oriented piece.


Brian

 

[Craig]

I spent 3 days on the Matanuska a couple of years ago.
We trekked from 11,000’ down through fern to about 8000’ IIRC.

It is a vastly huge glacier for sure. Over the years it has created some huge lateral moraines. I didn’t see any moulins though.

A lot of folks ski the Matanuska in winter.

It’s terminus

Note the plane for scale - Lateral Moraine

 

[Chugach001]

That's great. A million years ago I did a traverse up and over the Mat which was magical. Great ice climbing in the adjacent canyons

 

[Sheomet]

The thing is located inside a 24,000 square mile valley!

That's kind of a deceiving statement as the Matanuska only covers about 100 square miles and there's really no relationship to most of the Mat-Su valley which is mostly north of Anchorage and west of Palmer. Here's some pics of the Matanuska from this summer while I was doing some glacier research.