While standing between streams of glacier meltwater, I lectured to
our undergraduate students on the importance of liquid water on glacier motion, and how
rapidly the link between hydrology and basal sliding can change. Afterwards, we hiked
up into the alpine tundra for an overview of Kennicott Glacier, Hidden Creek Lake, and
Mt. Blackburn, the 5th tallest mountain in the US. From that overlook, we discussed the
2008 Nature Geoscience paper
that I published following fieldwork at this site.
I find this teaching to be great fun, and our students are consistently excited to
learn about the spectacular landscape through which we're traveling. The gorgeous
weather we enjoyed certainly didn't hurt anything! This was my 7th straight year of
teaching in Alaska's Wrangell Mountains.