Lift off by helicopter over the colossal Columbia Glacier — one of North America's largest tidewater glaciers — then land on the ancient ice for a guided walk through a blue-creviced otherworld. Few experiences in Alaska rival the sheer scale of standing on a glacier that stretches 34 miles into the Chugach mountains.
What to expect
Your pilot lifts you from the Valdez area and banks over the vast Columbia Bay, where enormous icebergs calve and drift in milky turquoise water. The glacier's surface emerges beneath you — a fractured, luminous landscape of seracs, crevasses, and meltwater rivers. After landing, a certified glacier guide leads you across the ancient ice, explaining the glaciology and geology of this vanishing giant. The flight back offers aerial views of the Chugach Range that are simply impossible to replicate from sea level.
Good to know
Weather-dependent; book early and confirm the morning of. Whittier or Valdez departure options available depending on your port of call. Wear layers and sturdy footwear — crampons are provided on the ice.