Briksdalen Glacier, Coastal Norway
After a quick technical stop last night we continued our way south. Our pilots artfully directed our ship through the maze of passages and fjords of coastal Norway, finding the most direct route. In the early morning hours we turned into Nordfjord (yet another Nordfjord; meaning “north fjord”, numerous fjords in Norway bear this name). Above us, barely visible, was the Jostedalsbreen Ice Sheet, the largest in Europe. It seems a bit strange to have this large ice sheet so far south, but the warmth of the Gulf Stream evaporates large quantities of water into the air; carried inland by westerly winds, the water falls as snow on the Norwegian plateau and feeds the ice sheet.
Glaciers spill out of numerous valleys that dissect the plateau. One such glacier is Briksdalen. Our ship docked at Olden and we boarded comfortable coaches for the trip up the valley, past simply incredible Norwegian pastoral scenery: jade green fields recently harvested, rust-red barns and dwellings, and white waterfalls descending down vertical cliffs from the ice sheet above, filling Lake Olden with teal-green water laden with glacial sediment. Yesterday it rained here and today the falls and cascades were filled to capacity, sending clouds of mist into the clear Norwegian air.
The walk to Briksdalen glacier covers about 1 ½ miles, but there was no need to hurry except, perhaps, when we scurried through mist that occasionally blanketed the trail. Our reward was a view of the glacier face. It shows the rapid retreat that is occurring in so many of the world’s glaciers in the current era of climate warming, a topic that was explored in an afternoon presentation.
Our explosion of Norwegian color continued when we returned to our ship to find that the crew had completed the painting of the hull, obliterating the marks left by her recent experience in the Arctic ice. Bright blue and yellow greeted us, attesting to the cooperation of Lindblad Expeditions and the National Geographic Society. And now the National Geographic Explorer begins her long passage toward the southern ice of Antarctica. She has served us well in the land of the ice bear and the Norwegian fjords.
