Video
Visiting Glaciers 1930s-1960s
Descriptive Transcript
Title card: “Visiting Glaciers 1930s-1960s"
Title card: “The following clips are highlights from films of trips to Grinnell and Sperry Glaciers in the 1930s-1960s.”
Title card: “Horseback trip to Grinnell Glacier, ca. 1932-1936"
Black and white footage of people on horseback rounding a bend on a forested trail. Behind the trees craggy mountains with white snow patches are visible.
A closer view of the craggy range from the previous scene reveals a large, striated ice mass sitting on a ledge below the peaks. A waterfall runs over a cliff from the outlet.
A group of six walk up the glacier next to an ice crevasse. One person tips a rock into the crevasse.
Three people peer over the edge of a large crevasse, one gesturing into it with a stick.
The group trudges along right next to the crevasse, a couple of them slipping on the ice.
A line of people slide down a large snowbank with a rocky moraine at the bottom, then continue walking across the snow patch.
A trio has a snowball fight on the snowbank.
Title card: “Trips to Sperry Glacier, 1937 & 1941”
A group of people climb up a steep, narrow rocky ledge, holding on to a railing.
Across the massive surface of the glacier, two people walk and slide.
Three men connected by ropes tied at their waists walk below the sprawling expanse of glacial ice.
Details of deep crevasses and cracks in the ice.
A group wearing hats lean over and peer down into a crevasse in the ice.
View from down into the crevasse back up at the group looking down.
Title card: “Trips to Grinnell Glacier, 1940s”
Color footage. A woman supported by a rope extending taught from her waist walks unsteadily on glacial ice, with both arms outstretched. She approaches a crevasse and leans over to peer into it. Then she turns and grabs the rope with both hands, pulling herself as she walks away from the crevasse.
View from above of a line of people walking across the glacier surface.
Title card: “Park staff at Sperry Glacier, early 1950s”
Color footage. A silhouetted park ranger walks into view in the foreground, with the mass of ice that is Sperry Glacier stretching behind him. He walks down and stops to look out over the glacier as shadows from overhead clouds pass over it.
Two people stand on the surface of the glacier. One slips and the other hands them their ice axe.
A park ranger approaches a large wall of glacial ice ending in a meltwater pool. He is snacking on something as he peers at the ice.
Title card: “Hiking to Grinnell Glacier, 1962”
Color footage. Lines of people hike up a rocky trail.
A park ranger stands next to a wooden sign reading, “Grinnell Glacier. Caution: Travel on glaciers is dangerous. Do not go on glaciers alone. Avoid crevasses and snow patches. Naturalist-conducted trips are the safest way to see a glacier.”
View from above of Grinnell Glacier, which is long and narrow and terminates in a meltwater pool filled with chunks of ice and snow.
The surface of the ice is striated and studded with rocks and rocky debris.
A large group walks alongside a crevasse in the ice.
A family poses on a large boulder stuck on the ice.
The group hops across the crevasse one by one, with the ranger standing by at the edge.
Details of the crevasse, where meltwater trickles down the blue-tinted ice into the dark.
Description
This collection of historic clips shows visitors at Sperry and Grinnell glaciers from the 1930s to 1960s. In addition to being visual records of glacier change over time; these clips also show changes in approaches to safety over time! The park's glaciers are dynamic, unstable surfaces with many hazards. Walking on glacial ice is risky and not recommended.
Duration
4 minutes, 54 seconds
Credit
NPS
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