Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board North Whitney glacier

In Bob R's post
Bob R thread
There is link to a July 1898 story that shows the North Whitney glacier along the Arctic Lake drainage.

Below is one of three 1898 pictures of the glacier. The color picture is mine from my Aug 2010 hike in the same place on the way eastbound toward the Whitney-Russell col.

I think the summiteers in 1898 went straight up the north side of Whitney, not over the col to Iceberg Lake and up the Mountaineers Route. But that is not the reason I am posting these pictures. I am posting them to compare the small glacier in 1898 and the small glacier in 2010. Some would say the acreage and depth do not qualify it as a glacier, but as a permanent snowfield. Point is, while some glaciers elsewhere are melting, Whitneys' is still there and looks the same. Harvey

Fascinating in how little the glacier has changed! It would be nice to see more "before & after" pictures like this (even better if the changes were as little as this North Whitney Glacier)

Thanks for posting the pic, Harvey.

While most glaciers are indeed retreating, a few are on the increase, such as some found on Shasta. There's an interesting explanation as to why they're increasing on Wikipedia.

As for the Whitney Glacier - IIRC, a glacier is a permanent snowfield which moves. I wonder if the Whitney Glacier is a true glacier, or is name an historical artifact?

we need a glaciologist. (I am not)

I just know that snow compaction to degree/type of ice, movement, size, and permanency are some of the attributes.

When I was at Glacier Nat Park, they said that 200 acres was their rule, although who "they" were I am not sure. Arbitrary anyway.

This is another view of the same thing from 08/08/10.

Here’s how The North Whitney snow patch.....er ah...glacier... looks from a little bit different angle on 9/26/10


The Arctic Lake drainage on 9/26/10


John Herr - 1898
“And looking above, one can follow the trail of this once massive body of ice for half a mile, where the solid granite is ground and polished under its weight until it glitters in the sunlight”
Here’s the slope John was referring to:

As far as I know, the Palisades glacier is the southernmost one in California.

What about the Middle Palisade Glacier just south of the Palisade Glacier?

Sorry, I should have been more specific.

When I lived in Big Pine upon scrutiny it seemed the Pal glacier(s) got smaller every year. Looking at old photos of what they did look like once, one can certainly see the shrinkage. Thanks for the great then and now photos, and it'd be cool to have more of them up on this board!