Glacier Hiking

Ptarmigan Lake Lodge is located an day's ride from the Russell Glacier, one of 2,000 glaciers in the Wrangell – St.Elias Park. Fed by over 20 feet of snow a year it's slowly moving under its own weight, grinding down to the valley, melting in the summer to feed the headwaters of the White River

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The Russell glacier is not just a highway of ice; it was also the primary route that miners used to pass through the Chitistone valley en route to Chisana in the early 1900's. We regularly find old tools and mining artifacts in the area, left behind by prospectors seeking their fortune in the gold fields around Chisana.

The summer is the safest and most dramatic time to travel on the glacier. It's invigorating and humbling to be walking on ancient ice in a pristine and rugged valley.

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