Skip to content

Lee Rentz Photography Journal

A journal of the thoughts, pictures, and adventures of photographer and writer Lee H. Rentz. Inspired by nature, with a passion for ideas both visual and literary.

Enter your email address to subscribe to the Lee Rentz Photography blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,500 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • A PLACE APART: Views from a Fire Lookout
  • FIVE BEAR STORIES
  • SNOW SOFTLY FALLING
  • GLOWING PINK FLYING SQUIRRELS: Biofluorescence Revealed
  • Brooks Range Expedition: Alaska 1984

Archives

  • August 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • February 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • July 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • January 2017
  • June 2016
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008

Blogroll

  • Gopher Valley Journal
  • WordPress.com
  • WordPress.org

Flickr Photos by Lee Rentz

Northern Red Oak Ice Casting in Central MichiganNorthern Red Oak Ice Casting in Central MichiganNorthern Red Oak Ice Casting in Central MichiganNorthern Red Oak Ice Casting in Central MichiganNorthern Red Oak Ice Casting in Central Michigan
More Photos

Month: December 2020

DEEP INSIDE A GLACIER

DEEP INSIDE A GLACIER

Thousands of years passed, blizzards howled over Iceland’s Katla Volcano in whiteouts that blocked out time and place. Uncountable snowflakes fell, dissolving the landscape. Immense compression squeezed the forming ice, forcing out air bubbles and creating a material of intense clarity and glacial plasticity. Gravity took over as the ice accumulated, and glacial ice flowed like a river that ignored time, down the volcano’s hidden ridges, scraping and sculpting the mountain, which was now hundreds of feet below the gleaming ice cap.

When we arrived at Kötlujökull glacier, a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, we saw ice that was thousands upon thousands of years old. It ended abruptly at the glacial terminus, which was a sheer wall of ice over 100 feet high. Our small group entered a cave in the glacier, created by a flowing glacial stream and polished by air currents. These photographs represent the incredible sculpted and colored walls of the inner sanctum of the glacier.

Dramatic entrance to an ice cave in a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Passage into an ice cave in Mýrdalsjökull Glacier on Katla Volcano
The melted vertical shaft of a moulin, aka glacier mill, the dramatic feature of an ice cave tour to a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
A melted vertical shaft, called a moulin or glacier mill, was the most dramatic feature of our ice cave tour
The melted vertical shaft of a moulin, aka glacier mill, the dramatic feature of an ice cave tour to a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Another view looking straight up the moulin toward the sky; imagine trying to climb out, even with ice climbing equipment!
The melted sides of a vertical shaft of a moulin, aka glacier mill, the dramatic feature of an ice cave tour to a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Bands of scalloped ice in the moulin, with the different colors representing changing conditions when the ice formed and compressed
The melted vertical shaft of a moulin, aka glacier mill, the dramatic feature of an ice cave tour to a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Polished ice surfaces approaching the moulin opening
The melted sides of a vertical shaft of a moulin, aka glacier mill, the dramatic feature of an ice cave tour to a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Ice fantasy fringed with icicles inside the ice cave
Icicles at entrance to an ice cave in a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Wall of melting ice and icicles, reflecting the blue sky outside
Karen Rentz inside an ice cave within a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
The highlight of our journey was entering a narrow cavern in the ice and following it into the glacier until we were blocked by a wall of ice. Here Karen Rentz is inside an ice cave channel, formed seasonally by running water, her headlamp and mine illuminating the ice
Interior of an ice cave within a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
The ice channel curved and twisted through the glacier
Dramatic color of ice viewed during an ice cave tour to a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Fanciful textures and patterns of ice, rich with glacial aquamarine coloring
Icicles at entrance to an ice cave in a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Icicles at entrance to the ice cave, with hardly a hint of what awaits within
Terminus of glacier viewed during ice cave tour to a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
The glacial terminus, which we approached and then entered through a small opening
Karen Rentz using rope and crampons to ascend to cave entrance during ice cave tour to a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Karen Rentz using rope and crampons to ascend to cave entrance
Adventurers walking toward an ice cave entrance in a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Adventurers walking toward an ice cave entrance. If you go to Iceland and wish to explore an ice cave, make sure you spend the extra money and go on a small tour led by a leader driving a SuperJeep (the Icelandic name for any really rugged 4WD vehicle). Some bus tours pack people into a large cave along with hundreds of others, and the experience is that of a herd.
Mýrdalssandur outwash plain near Mýrdalsjökull Glacier with Hafursey mountain, where part of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was filmed, Iceland, in winter
Mýrdalssandur outwash plain looking out from the ice cave entrance, Hafursey Mountain. This is where part of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was filmed.
Dramatic entrance to an ice cave in a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which sits atop Katla Volcano, in winter in Iceland
Dramatic entrance to an ice cave in a lobe of Mýrdalsjökull Glacier

We visited Iceland in March of 2018, with the intent of seeing the Aurora Borealis, which we did on three nights, and the South Coast, where these glacier pictures were taken. We also wanted to experience the Westfjords region in winter, which was also spectacular. We rented an all wheel drive Subaru so we could have more freedom of movement and spontaneity than a bus tour allows, and we stayed in modest AirBnBs to keep down the costs. Except for a couple of meals at restaurants, we ate simply, buying from small grocery stores (and Costco!). Our biggest splurges were for two guided ice cave tours, in which a driver and guide using a SuperJeep 4wd vehicle takes visitors to really spectacular places that would otherwise not be accessible. Well worth it!

Most of my work is available as prints on metal or cotton rag paper. To see a large selection of my work go to leerentz.com.

Share this:

  • Reddit
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...
Posted on December 27, 2020December 27, 2020Categories Adventure, Challenges, geology, Glaciers, Iceland, photography, tourism, travelTags adventure, adventure tourism, blue, blue ice, cold, color, colors, colour, crevasse, entrance, experience, F-Road, frigid, geologic, geology, glacial, glacier, green, guide, guided, hole, ice, ice cap, ice cave, ice caving, Iceland, icy, interior, Katlatrack Adventure Tours, Kötlujökull glacier, landscape, lee rentz, leerentz.com, march, Mýrdalsjökull, melted, melting, moulin, Myrdalsjokull Glacier, nature, opening, patterns, patterns in nature, photo, photography, reflecting, Ring Road, Route 1, snow, Super Jeep, tour, tourists, travel, vertical, water, well-like6 Comments on DEEP INSIDE A GLACIER
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Follow Following
    • Lee Rentz Photography Journal
    • Join 5,439 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Lee Rentz Photography Journal
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: