This photo was taken on the Root Glacier in Wrangell-St Elias NP. The surface of a glacier was not at all like I expected. It is covered with these large “waves”. If you zoom on the center of the photo, you can also see a small stream and pool of water.

Why did I think I knew anything about glaciers? Sure, I had seen pictures of glaciers and even talked to people who had been on them. I knew a little about crevasses and that I wanted to avoid them. I had never heard of a moulin which is a giant hole in the glacier that carries water from the surface all the way to the underside of the glacier.

Whatever we know, it is even more important to recognize what we don’t know.