The Mendenhall Glacier Tour begins with a 4-mile hike through the Tongass National Forest – the largest temperate rainforest in the world, dominated by towering Sitka Spruce and Hemlock Trees. As you follow your guide through the dense vegetation, around beaver ponds, and up rock scrambles, the wilderness trail becomes less defined.

This hiking tour is strenuous and requires excellent balance and sure-footedness.  While total elevation gain is only 800 feet, the terrain is steep, uneven, slippery, and rocky. We’ll cover 4 miles, each way, in approximately 2-2.5 hours – if you require a faster or slower place, please consider booking the Privately Guided Mendenhall Glacier Trek.

As you emerge from the forest and approach the final ridge, the jagged face of the glacier bursts into view, it’s river of ice coursing behind it. We’ll embark on a guided trek to explore an array of glacial features along the edge. These features may include moulins, crevasses, and ice caves, if available. Because the glacier is in a state of constant change, not all features may be present or accessible. Every day is different on the ice!

After an adventure on the glacier, we’ll hike back on the West Glacier Trail and provide transportation back to your pick-up location.

**The Mendenhall Glacier is receding on a daily basis and due to this we are seeing drastic changes to the surface of the glacier.  Our site for trekking on the glacier with crampons is getting steeper and more challenging each summer. These changes, along with rising lake levels, have left us with very limited, safe areas to explore on the ice. Therefore, as we prepare for the 2022 season, we want you to know that we can’t guarantee that every trip will get on the glacier.  Our rates for 2022 have been reduced to reflect this change. Safety is our number one priority and we assess conditions daily on every trip. If we can’t walk on the glacier, then we will spend more time exploring the glacier up close and hiking around the edges of it safely from the bedrock. The edge of the glacier has some of the most stunning features you will find; this is where ice caves, tunnels, and tubes tend to form creating those beautiful blue colors.  These features are never guaranteed but do form throughout the summer. 

Client Pickup Information

Located at the base of the Mt. Roberts Tramway, the “C”-Sign is ABAK’s primary downtown meeting location for cruise passengers and clients staying in the downtown area. 

Clients arriving at AJ Dock:

Clients who dock at the AJ Dock within 30 minutes of the ABAK pick-up time will be picked up directly from AJ DOCK.

Clients Staying Locally:

Clients can be picked up from any major hotel in the Mendenhall Valley.  

Clients staying at major hotels in the Downtown area will meet at our Downtown meeting location.

ABAK is unable to provide pick-up in residential neighborhoods. Clients staying at private residences, Air BnB’s, VRBO’s, or have own transportation please contact our office for meeting location information at 907-364-2333 or info@beyondak.com.