Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/1060178
D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 9 24 underpowered airplane close to mountain sum- mits, often below them and in the lee side, things that increase danger. ere is also the matter of when the glaciers are best viewed. With winter snows sitting on top of them, much of the detail is lost. e entire glacier can be obscured in a landscape filled with snow. I decided to reserve the complication of getting so close to mountain terrain to midsum- mer when snow would be melted. But then the West started on fire, choking most of August in smoke. Anxious I wouldn't get the project done, I made phone call to Livings- ton, MT airport to clear the matter up: "Hello, I am calling to check if there is any smoke visible. I have a photography flight to take up that way." "Smoke? Ha! Its 5 to 6 miles visibility right now." "Uh, right. Well, your automated weather says 10 miles." "Well, I don't know what to say, there's smoke all over the place." "is is my first year here. Do you have any knowledge of how long the smoke normally sticks around for?" "If there are fires in Montana, there is smoke." "Yeah, I know that. Any clue how long it usu- ally lasts?" "Until it rains or snows." And then it did snow in Montana, thankfully putting out the fires, though showing me that I had a short window to get the glaciers before they got covered in…too much snow. Four days later, I was outrunning incoming smoke from the south and a weather system coming in from Canada, flying around peaks and glaciers of Glacier National Park in dubi- ous winds. I couldn't help myself. If I didn't get them while with the airplane, I certainly wasn't going to get them after having shipped the AHERN GLACIER Sitting high above Helen Lake, Ahern Glacier is located on the eastern half of the park. The Great Plains are viewable on the far right of the image. GRINNELL Located on the east side of The Garden Wall, out of view of Going to the Sun Road, Grinnell Glacier flows into Upper Grinnell Lake. In this image taken straight overhead, calving is evident during the summer melt season. CONTINUED