2. 2008

Water Rescue Training - Knik Glacier

Taking a trip upriver with the dive team.
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Spirits still high, we start off. Cliff grins a little.
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Spirits still high, we start off. Cliff grins a little.

AlaskaKnik RiverCliff Silvers2008Matanuska Susitna Valley

  • Water Rescue Chief Cliff Silvers configured the GPS before the start of our journey upriver.
  • Things start out well, giving the boat a jump to get it running.
  • Spirits still high, we start off. Cliff grins a little.
  • Grins are justified at the moment. Jess and Steven elected to brave the tow on our new rescue platform, dubbed the "banana boat." Keep in mind, this water is fresh off the glacier, and just about as cold as water can get in liquid form.
  • The banana boat rides smoothly behind carrying Jess and Steven as Cliff navigates the somewhat tricky sand bars on the way upstream.
  • Pieter maintains his stoic poker-face, although underneath the calm is another nature altogether that threw a couple of us in the river later. Fortunately rescuers were standing by...
  • Jess helps Steven back onto the banana boat after a little spill.
  • A brief stop on the riverbank shows a glimpse of the immense nature of the Knik Glacier, still quite distant.
  • We made it to the glacier after a while, and parked amid icebergs where the river begins.
  • There was a ton of traffic in the area, it being the weekend. We saw a number of boats, planes, and this helicopter.
  • Jess Young and the Knik Glacier.
  • Steven Flanery and the Knik Glacier.
  • Jess was a little cold after that ride on the banana boat.
  • Another visitor to the area with a nice motorized canoe.
  • Cliff builds a bit of a fire to warm up before we head back downstream.
  • The Knik Glacier in one direction. You can see it extends out past the horizon. It does this in the other direction too, although it's actually two separate glaciers joining together a few miles uphill from where we're at.
  • Visibility is measured in inches in this icy glacial water.
  • Slabs of rock shore the Knik River with interesting parallels.
  • A rocky bluff drops off into the icy water of the Knik River.
  • Waterfalls cascade down the faces of the nearby mountain year-round.
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